Scott Brinton

Donald J. Trump, the ultimate reality TV star

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“Morning is when I am awake, and there is a dawn in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau

I blame Sweden for Donald Trump’s stunning victory last week. Yes, Sweden.

In 1997, “Expedition Robinson” first appeared on Swedish television. Three years later, the mega-hit TV series “Survivor,” a knock-off of that show, premiered in the U.S. on CBS. “Survivor” popularized the reality TV format. More than 50 million people tuned in to Season One’s final episode, when Richard Hatch soundly defeated Kelly Wiglesworth to win $1 million. “Survivor” has lasted 33 seasons.

Donald J. Trump ran his presidential campaign like a contestant on any of the myriad reality TV shows that now dot our airwaves. He would say anything to beat back an opponent. He would insult anyone to garner America’s attention. He was a vast, immovable ball of negative energy, a black hole sucking in viewers like so many Tic Tacs.

Reality TV has made America cruder, more cunning, even devious. The reality TV ethos –– that the end justifies the means –– is now sadly ingrained in our culture. And Trump is the ultimate grand-prize winner.

I watched “Survivor’s” first season with great interest. The show’s premise was fascinating. Drop 16 people in the “wild” of a tropical island, expose them to the elements and a series of deprivations and skills contests, and see what happens.

Contestants could vote to keep other competitors on the show or send them packing. Alliances formed. Then came the hatred. The environment was semi-controlled, so “Survivor” never became “Lord of the Flies.” But things got really nasty really fast. Machiavelli would have been proud.

Hatch was particularly loathsome. I kept thinking, he’ll never win. He’s just too mean. And I kept watching, hoping that his opponents would knock him off. That never happened, however. The so-called bad guy prevailed in the end. I never watched “Survivor” again.

Fast-forward to 2016. In precisely the same way, I watched in disbelief as the returns rolled in on Nov. 8. Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin would never go for Trump, I thought. Those states represented Hillary Clinton’s so-called “blue wall.” Those three traditionally Democratic strongholds would carry her to the White House. But it didn’t happened.

Clinton lost in all three states by narrow margins, sending Trump to the White House.

The Donald clearly knows how to play the reality TV game. After all, he hosted his own show, NBC’s “The Apprentice.” He learned the power of showmanship to evoke latent emotions pent up inside tens of millions of people –– angst, anger, fear, even hate.

And he directed those emotions at Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital became a symbol for all that ailed America. It, and it alone, was to blame for people’s troubles, real and perceived. Trump masterfully portrayed Clinton as the consummate Washington insider. So, on Election Day, those tens of millions voted for Trump. Even Democrats –– albeit older, white Democrats –– went with him.

Virtually none of the pollsters and pundits correctly predicted the outcome. Most of the polling data, in fact, indicated a decisive Clinton victory. Thus, this presidential election featured the perfect reality TV conclusion –– a surprise ending.

I respect and admire CNN political commentator Van Jones, a Yale Law School graduate who served in the Obama administration. On Election Night, however, a highly emotional Jones said he was uncertain what he would tell his children about Trump’s stunning victory. I knew what I would tell mine, though: We know who we are. We know what we stand for. Trump might now be our president-elect, but he doesn’t represent our values.

And life goes on.

We must continue to fight the good fight by speaking our minds in an open and free democratic society, just as Susan B. Anthony, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Woodmere-born Harvey Milk did –– in far more harrowing times than these.

It was a hopeful sign to see tens of thousands of protesters take to the streets of major cities across the U.S. in the days after the election, speaking out on behalf of women, minorities, immigrants, Muslims and members of the LGBT community.

Perhaps we were seeing the seeds of a new political movement, one that will retake the White House through kindness and respect. Now all that movement needs is a leader –– someone who has that magic touch, that indefinable ability to move people’s hearts with soaring rhetoric that inspires rather than incites. Someone who is decent and forthright beyond reproach (read: scandal-free). Someone who is highly intelligent and capable, strong-willed and strong-minded. Someone who can appeal to a wide swath of voters, from African-Americans to Latinos and whites, factory workers and Fortune 500 leaders.

Yes, Michelle Obama, I’m talking to you. Please run in 2020. Pretty please. The nation needs you now more than ever –– and now is the time to start prepping.

Scott Brinton is the Herald Community Newspapers’ executive editor and an adjunct professor at the Hofstra University Herbert School of Communication. Comments about this column? SBrinton@liherald.com.