Reading back over the publicly expressed opinions of Donald J. Trump in the 1990s and early 2000s, one is struck by how close they were to the political and socio-economic policies of the mainstream Democratic Party. These were embodied in the fiscally liberal but socially conservative two term presidency of Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001, which found much favour with the Wall Street cliques of the day. In fact I think there is a fair argument to be made that Trump’s ambitions for the White House began with his disappointment, resentment even, at Barack Obama’s defeat of Hillary Clinton in the Democrat primaries of 2007-8. The millionaire businessman had lent both his name and his money to the campaign of the New York junior senator, and like many within and without the party, he was fully expecting the “establishment” candidate to defeat her upstart Illinois opponent.
Obama’s unexpected victory, buoyed on a populist wave, washed away the hopes of a new Clinton presidency, denying Trump the valediction he was seeking in the body politic of the United States. It was certainly during this post-election period of 2008 and ’09 that the real estate developer began his slow move towards the political right, embracing a particularly zealous antipathy for Barack Obama, which manifested itself in all sorts of crazy “birther” nonsense and so on. In 2011-12 Donald Trump cast his lot with the Republican Party aspirant for the White House, Mitt Romney, and was once again bitterly disappointed as Obama rolled over his elitist, fumbled-footed opponent from Massachusetts. Trump seems to have subsequently abandoned all hope of becoming a man with the ear of some future occupant of the Oval Office and instead sought to take the office for himself, and under his own terms.
While we have seen many theories for the rise of Donald J. Trump, including counter-factual claims that he is a Frankenstein monster engendered by the politics of the American Left, the most likely explanation seems the most obvious. He is a disgruntled former Hillary supporter whose irrational hatred of Barack Hussein Obama stems from the latter’s repeated victories over the millionaire’s favoured candidates. After all, that is not the history of a “winner”, though it may certainly be the history of a rich, petty narcissist with a grudge.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
Trump/Clinton are two cheeks of the same ass. The best way to control the opposition is to lead it. I am convinced trump set out to muddy the waters of the Republican Party and thus give the Democratic Party and more importantly Clinton the boost they/she badly needed. Clinton is deeply unpopular with a lot of Americans but trumps utterings make her look appealing. Getting Hilary elected is the plan from day one imho. The American public are being played like a fine fiddle.
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Not sure about that. I’d still go with Trump acting out of spite, a grudge against the “low energy” politicos who failed to deliver on the promises his largesse purchased in the presidential campaigns of the last decade. He backed them, they failed, both Democrat and Republican, now he has taken matters into his own (tiny wee) hands 😉
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At the beginning, this was my assumption. In fact, it’s been reported that Bill Clinton had encouraged Trump to run. And indeed, in the early days, Trump rose as a parody of the Republican Party. But at the back was still that semi-populist platform on which he ran in 2000 for Ross Perot’s Reform Party, notably fair trade and universal healthcare, positions well to the left of the Clinton’s New Democrats. He has also positioned himself to the left of Clinton in advocating for “making deals” with other countries instead of just bombing them into submission. Which, come to think of it, has indeed muddied the waters of the Republican Party, as the interventionist neocons are generally abandoning Trump for Clinton, and in return he has undercut Clinton on cultural issues, where there is virtually no difference between them.
But both Clinton and Trump find their game complicated by Bernie Sanders, an actual populist of the left. Their shared ass is taking some beating.
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Let’s not forget that photo of Clinton at Trump’s wedding, laughing and joking with the man himself.
“After all, that is not the history of a ‘winner’, though it may certainly be the history of a rich, petty narcissist with a grudge.”
BOOM.
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It’s Definitely a personal grudge against Obama, I actually think most of it can be traced to the roast of 2011, that’s when Trump was truly scorned. I think more than anything else, he’s determined to become president, so he can destroy Obama in some way, though most likely he’ll have to settle for undoing some of Obama’s achievements in office.
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Yep, I think he has at least one eye on ruining the Obama legacy (whatever that is).
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