Hillary Clinton’s path to the presidency involves convincing Americans to embrace the status quo, while at the same time painting Donald Trump as a fundamental danger to the country.
Clinton has been endorsed by Michael Bloomberg and Barack Obama. All while Mitt Romney, former presidents George W. Bush and George H.W Bush have refused to back Trump. While this doesn’t technically mean they are supporting Clinton, Trump allies view it this way. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has said, “If you’re not working for Donald Trump, you’re working for Hillary. That’s the bottom line.”
Democrats have repeatedly used rhetoric to imply that only Hillary Clinton is able to assume the office of presidency without certain turmoil occurring. During a Jewish Caucus event at the Democratic National Convention, a former Clinton White House staffer said, “we know from recent history that when you live in a society where the forces of division looks for scapegoats, Jews are next in line.”
During his endorsement of Hillary, former New York City mayor Bloomberg said, “The bottom line is: Trump is a risky, reckless and radical choice, and we can’t afford to make that choice.” (RELATED: Fear And Voting At The Democratic Convention)
This isn’t necessarily a coincidence that Hillary backers are painting Trump as a dangerous candidate. A leaked email between Democratic National Committee officials by WikiLeaks is titled “Dangerous Donald Trump Narrative.” The email is from DNC communications director Luis Miranda to “seniorstaff@dnc.org.”
“For your framing purposes, here’s our narrative guide for how to talk about Trump: Dangerous Donald Trump Lacks the Judgment or Temperament to be President,” Miranda writes.
“Donald Trump’s recklessness would hurt our economy, diminish our standing in the world, and make our communities less safe. Trump is dangerous, and he lacks the judgment or temperament to be president,” Miranda says. “The American people can’t afford to let him bully his way into the Oval Office,” the email continues.
Polling is somewhat conflicting when it comes to whether the American public wish to seek a continuation of the status quo. A recent Reuters poll shows that 68 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong path.
At the same President Barack Obama has a positive approval rating. The RealClearPolitics average of job approval polling shows 49.8 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s work, while 47 percent don’t. It should be noted that in the Reuters poll, Obama has a 45 percent job approval rating while 49 percent disapprove.
At this time in 2008 over 60 percent of Americans disapproved of the job former President George W.Bush was doing. Bush also did not appear frequently on the campaign trail for McCain, like Obama is currently doing for Clinton.
Hillary is pitching the idea America is currently great. She is trying to convince Americans that this is true, or at least that the change being offered is too dangerous.