Most of the commentators have analogized the Trump campaign to a reality show, which makes sense, based on his media background. However, it appears to me that right-wing talk radio has been a much greater influence on Trump’s style: loud; angry; spontaneous; never apologetic; fond of conspiracy theories; loose with facts; and oozing with heavy metal testosterone.
That also sounds a lot like the WWE, which I will discuss another day.
Campaigning as Rush Limbaugh makes sense when you are dealing with an electorate that is effectively limited to a small number of right-wing activists. The problem for Trump is that about 80 percent of the general election voters, including many Republicans, would rather eat ground glass than listen to Rush. If he moderates his style, however, he will forfeit the “authenticity” argument against Hillary. What is he to do?
That is the central dilemma of his campaign, and he clearly hasn’t figured it out yet. My guess is that he will veer back and forth and hope to get the best of both worlds. Expect to see lots of stories about “New Trump” and “Old Trump” in the MSM over the next several months.