Donald J. Trump: Businessman, reality television star, and Republican Presidential Candidate.
During the 2015 Republican Primaries and into the 2016 general election, he has seemingly defied the odds to rise from the man who was famous for proclaiming “You’re FIRED!” to the next potential leader of the Free World. But don’t be fooled, he did not do this on his own. In order to win over wary conservative voters in the primaries to secure the GOP nomination, Trump needed some strong, persuasive conservative and Republican voices to help reassure the base that he was “their guy.”
While Trump’s boisterous antics were able to win over the alt-right/low-information conservative and GOP voters, it wasn’t enough to secure the nomination alone. So who most helped prop him up as the presumptive GOP nominee?
5. Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Giuliani, a fellow New York City politician who famously bore the title “America’s Mayor” after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, was one of the first figures within the GOP to embrace Trump. As early as April 2016, the former mayor endorsed Trump, while insisting that he would have no role within the campaign apparatus.
This would later prove to be inaccurate, as Giuliani became a regular surrogate who frequented news programs in support of Trump. Giuliani, who himself is a former presidential candidate, also gave a fiery, hawkish speech at the Republican National Convention in July in which he (in)famously stated, “You know who you are, and we are coming to get you” in regards to potential foreign terrorists.
Giuliani’s endorsement and subsequent campaigning and stumping for Trump undoubtedly put the more neoconservative, hawkish establishment wing of the GOP at ease.
4. Governor Sarah Palin
In January 2016, Trump pulled out “the big guns” in terms of Tea Party firepower, as he was able to secure the endorsement of former Governor of Alaska, former Vice Presidential candidate, and Tea Party darling Sarah Palin.
While Palin has faced criticism in the past from those on the left and right alike, she was able to take her starpower and conservative “bona fides” and become the de facto face of the Tea Party movement. After her 2008 run as the conservative balance to GOP presidential candidate John McCain’s neocon leanings, Palin instantly became a right-wing celebrity. An endorsement from Palin was considered a stamp of approval for those on the right, and though her celebrity faded in recent years, those close to the core of the Tea Party movement still held a special place for her in their hearts.
Fast forward to the first month of 2016, and Palin was again in the news, this time for her endorsement of Trump, despite there being other (actual) Tea Party conservatives still in the race, such as Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul. Palin’s endorsement, though bizarre, affirmed the “build-a-wall” Tea Party’s belief that Trump was their man, and solidified the conservative base for Trump from that point forward.
For some wildly entertaining and uncomfortable viewing pleasure, watch Palin’s endorsement of Trump here:
3. Rush Limbaugh
While Limbaugh never “formally” came out and endorsed Trump in the primaries, he certainly gave him pass after pass for his lack of right-leaning politics. With an audience of millions of listeners, Limbaugh is undoubtedly one of, if not the most, influential voice(s) in the conservative movement. Yet since the announcement of Trump’s campaign, Limbaugh, while never formally endorsing, certainly promoted the rhetoric of Trump and his campaign all along, seemingly in the name of ratings.
Limbaugh even admitted that he didn’t believe in Trump and the entire cornerstone of his campaign: immigration. On his radio show, despite propping up Trump’s immigration policy, most notably of which was “The Wall,” Limbaugh stated as much:
Caller: With all due respect, Rush, on Chuck Todd’s show, he specifically said, when asked the question, “You mean you’re going to rip the families apart?”
He said, “No, I’m not going to rip the families apart, they all have to go, even the U.S. citizen children.”
He then got into the middle of the debate, and the argument between Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, when Ted wanted legalization and Marco wanted citizenship as part of a comprehensive plan. He said that they were both wrong, that they were both being absurd, that they all had to go “or we don’t have a nation of laws.” Come on! You were watching the debates as well as the rest of us were. You know exactly what he said and you know exactly the way he ridiculed everybody on that stage.
Rush Limbaugh: Yeah, well I guess the difference is—well not the difference, I guess the thing is, this is gonna enrage you. You know, I could choose a path here to try to mollify you, but I never took him seriously on this!
Caller: 10 million people did.
Rush Limbaugh: Yeah, and they still don’t care. My point is they still don’t care. They’re gonna stick with him no matter what.
In a rare moment of complete transparency, Limbaugh admitted what many #NeverTrump conservatives and Republicans had been stating for months: Trump sells, regardless of substance. And if that means sacrificing principles in the name of ratings, so be it.
2. Ann Coulter
Credit where credit is due: Ann Coulter has seemingly been on the “Trump Train” since day one. As one of anti-immigration’s strongest and loudest voices, Coulter fell in love with him and his immigration policy, infamously tweeting:
I don't care if @realDonaldTrump wants to perform abortions in White House after this immigration policy paper. http://t.co/l7nq8gN7i5
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2015
Believe it or not, this isn’t the most wacky, cultish act or statement Coulter has done. Not only is Coulter the author of the Trump worshiping book, “In Trump We Trust,” but she has also gone as far to state:
“I worship him like the North Koreans worship the ‘Dear Leaders’ — yes, I would die for him.”
Despite the seemingly schoolgirl infatuation Coulter has with Trump, she still does possess a strong following on the right, especially with regards to immigration. With Trump’s strong, anti-immigration position at the onset of his campaign, a Coulter endorsement was a green-light for anti-immigration proponents to jump onboard the “Trump Train.”
1. Sean Hannity (and Fox News in general)
It is without surprise that the likes of Sean Hannity and Fox News are the primary reason that Trump was able to secure the GOP nomination.
To begin, Fox News, the conservative-leaning news network that touts their record of being “fair and balanced,” was nothing of the sorts during the GOP primaries. As a matter of fact, not only was Fox News blatantly biased towards Trump in their coverage, but they also gave Trump more than twice as much coverage as any other GOP candidate during the primary season. To put this in perspective, Trump racked up more airtime on the network than Sen. Ted Cruz, former Gov. Jeb Bush, and Sen. Marco Rubio combined.
Furthermore, according to New York Magazine, Trump had been working behind the scenes to run for President for some time, as he “diligently laid the groundwork for his 2016 run over the course of several years, cultivating relationships with powerful allies in the conservative firmament and in the media,” which presumably included Fox News.
For instance, Trump phoned in several interviews on Fox’s On The Record with host Greta Van Susteren long before he announced he would run for President.
As for Sean Hannity, this author has written at length as to how far Hannity has seemingly given up on any sense of principles in the name of ratings. It was obvious throughout the primaries that Hannity held a deep sense of bias and loyalty to his friend, Donald Trump. Through his countless townhalls to his softball questions, Hannity was one of the main causes of Trump’s rise.
