How come Donald Trump has retained the loyalty of so many supporters, despite the serious charges levelled against him this week - charges that could land this former President in prison for twenty years?
Anyone lacking his charisma and communication skills would have lost their support months ago. But not Trump. Millions of people, in both America and the UK, are still taken in but his uncanny ability to come over as the spontaneous man in the street. Yet nothing could be further from the truth.
Far from being spontaneous, his off-the-cuff remarks and
witty quips are often contrived and refined behind closed doors. Rather than disregard what his advisor’s tell him, he takes it all into account when deciding what to say. Public speeches are not, of course, just about words; they involve tone of voice, well-placed pauses, gravitas and much more.
His extraordinary political pull comes from a unique blend of natural and rehearsed spontaneity. It was this that inspired my aphorism: ‘Given sufficient notice, one can always be spontaneous’, which has just won the Oscar Wilde Society’s Wilde Wit Competition.
His impassioned speeches are, in-fact, well-crafted, rehearsed performances, and woe betide the many millions taken in by them. In this era of fake news, public figures find it ever easier to feign spontaneity to connect with, and ultimately hoodwink, their audiences. It has never been more essential to be discerning, and to recognise that what meets the eye may not always be a true reflection of reality.
You can read more of my aphorisms in my latest book, Within, which you find out more about here.