It’s Not Chaos. It’s Trump’s Campaign Strategy.

It’s Not Chaos. It’s Trump’s Campaign Strategy.

Trump greets supporters at a rally in Davenport, Iowa. The candidate seems to test his messages at rallies.

Trump greets supporters at a rally in Davenport, Iowa. The candidate seems to test his messages at rallies. (Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)

By Paul Schwartzman and Jenna Johnson

December 9, 2015

Excerpts

He referred to Mexicans as “rapists,” questioned Sen. John McCain’s status as a war hero, ridiculed the physical appearance of his opponents, falsely claimed that “thousands” in New Jersey cheered as the World Trade Center fell and, this week, called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States.

Despite predictions that such searing, divisive rhetoric and the resulting outcry would cripple his campaign, Donald Trump’s insults and controversial proposals have propelled him to the forefront of the 2016 presidential race — and kept him there.

And while it may seem like a lurching, chaotic campaign, Trump is, for the most part, a disciplined and methodical candidate, according to a Washington Post review of the businessman’s speeches, interviews and thousands of tweets and retweets over the past six months. …

The Post’s analysis found several qualities to Trump’s approach. First is a pattern of experimentation that suggests that he is testing his insults and attacks as he goes along. Like a team of corporate marketers, Trump understands the value of message-testing — but he appears to do it spontaneously, behind the lectern and on live television. …

Another quality to Trump’s words is the kernel of truth that often exists in even his most inflammatory statements. …

These patterns of speaking, along with his charm and sometimes lavish praise for people he likes, resonate with many conservative voters who are looking for someone to trust over the mainstream media. They see Trump as genuine and honest, one of the few politicians who don’t lie to them, even if his comments are not fully true.

With each new uproar, the analysis also showed, a largely predictable cycle unfolds. It begins with Trump’s bombast. Next comes condemnation and predictions that his candidacy is doomed, followed by his tendency to keep going without backing down. The pattern has repeated with many of his major controversies.

Trump often provokes a fresh, whiplash-inducing controversy that eclipses the current one, triggering a new round of free media coverage that cements his place at the forefront of the news cycle. …

At other moments, Trump repeats his inaccuracies with escalating zeal even as they are debunked by experts. …

For all his apparent ad-libbing, Trump’s presentation is rife with words he often repeats. He tells supporters that the wall he wants to build on the southern border would be the “greatest.” The purported mastermind who terrorized Paris was a “moron” in a “filthy, dirty hat.”

He is no more predictable than when he disparages his Republican opponents, using his outsize platform to define them in highly personal and unflattering terms. …

Full report and multimedia at the Washington Post