For thousands of years, humans have used the art of storytelling to motivate and persuade. Countless films and novels have grown out of familiar narrative structures: the hero, dissatisfied with his or her current situation, faces an enemy he or she must overcome, makes allies, encounters challenges and obstacles along the way and eventually emerges victorious.
The art of good storytelling is almost entirely absent in our politics today. Stale talking points, cookie-cutter TV ads, and policy papers fail to fill a void or connect to day-to-day lives. Voters are left seeking real meaning, a feeling that leaders are truly aiding them on their journey to overcome major challenges.
Donald Trump, having spent decades in the public eye as an entertainer, may not understand what the nuclear triad is, or what America’s “first use” nuclear policy is, or why starting a trade war would be a disaster. But he does understand storytelling, the power of a clear narrative and the importance of stirring emotion.
In Monday night’s debate, Trump told to a story that puts his voters as the hero in a struggle against a host of villains.
To say many Americans are dissatisfied with their current situation is an understatement. Trump tells these voters that they are special, their talents overlooked, and that it is time for them to take up the fight. Repeatedly in the debate, Trump highlighted a number of villains on whom voters can pin their anger.
Dissatisfied with the economy? In Trump’s telling of your story, China and Mexico are to blame. So, too, are those corporations who have outsourced your job in search of cheaper labor to make air conditioners and cookies.
Feeling unsafe in your own home? Look no further than those terrorists and criminals and illegal immigrants who have been given free reign and on whom Trump says we need to “get tough.”
In Trump’s telling, politicians like Hillary Clinton are not necessarily the villain, but are an obstacle to overcome on the way to victory. He’ll say we can’t get tough on terror, or tough on trade, or tough on China or tough on criminals if we’re stuck in the past, with “bad experience” as Trump put it on Monday night. Once we get past this election, we can begin tackling the Big Bads that he says have gone unchecked.
For Trump, the story is everything. There is no real plan to defeat the villains that Trump tees up, of course. But go back and rewatch clips of Trump responding to questions about how he would create jobs, or how he would address terror, or deal with policing. He sticks to the story, filibustering for minutes at a time, repeating the same narrative points over and over. Ask him how he will bring jobs back, and he ticks off a laundry list of industries that have left, and the countries to which they have fled. Ask him how he will handle the Islamic State or deal with Iran, he gives no such plan, but happily recites just how terrible the Islamic State and Iran are, affirming that they too are villains we will defeat once he defeats Hillary Clinton.
Clinton, meanwhile, has a very different narrative. To the extent she has a story to tell, China and Mexico aren’t villains, but instead are valued trading partners. Iran is a challenge, yes, but not an enemy. Undocumented immigrants are an asset to our nation, not a liability. In Clinton’s story, maybe there’s not an epic battle to be waged after all, but rather a tinkering around the edges on a slow march to incremental progress.
No, the villain in Clinton’s story now is singular and obvious: Donald Trump. Going up against a conventional Republican might open the doors to using the usual Democratic villain list (big corporations, religious folks, racist Southerners, etc.), but in this case, Trump himself is not merely an obstacle to progress; he is, himself, the villain of the tale.
Fair enough, and Trump certainly gives Clinton plenty to work with on this front. But do most Americans think Trump is the reason why things aren’t going on the right track in their world? Is “I’ll defeat Donald Trump” as compelling an outcome for swing voters as “I’ll bring your job back and protect your family and Make America Great Again?” Is “Vote for me, I’m not Donald Trump” enough to win this election?
It very well may be. Clinton went into the debates with a very slight lead, and it would not be surprising to see that lead expand a bit as more voters realize that there is no Trump “presidential pivot” waiting around the corner. But never underestimate the power of an entertainer. For all that Trump may ignore the facts or lack a plan, he’s got something that can still matter a lot: a story.
Kristen Soltis Anderson is a columnist for The Washington Examiner and author of “The Selfie Vote.”
