9
was a deliberate jab at former president Barack Obama and the
Democrats. Trump felt they had weakened the United States
and that it was his job to restore the nation’s military and eco-
nomic might.
As a presidential candidate, Trump made headlines daily
with his campaign speeches and pointed remarks to the media.
His statements were either refreshingly candid or outrageously
mean-spirited, depending on his listeners’ viewpoint. He referred
to immigrants from Mexico and Latin America as criminals, rap-
ists, and drug dealers. He blasted longtime allies in Europe for
not spending more on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
defenses. He vowed to scrap trade agreements in favor of new
ones more favorable to America. Above all, he promised a new
era of success and prosperity. “We’re going to win. We’re going
to win so much,” he told supporters at a May 2016 rally in Bill-
ings, Montana. “We’re going to win at
trade, we’re going to win at the border.
We’re going to win so much, you’re go-
ing to be so sick and tired of winning.”
7
Many times Trump seemed to cross
the line with a reckless comment, lead-
ing to predictions that his campaign was
finished. For example, in July 2015 he
lashed out at Senator John McCain. As
a US Navy pilot in the Vietnam War, Mc-
Cain had been shot down, taken pris-
oner, and tortured by the North Vietnamese. Of McCain, one of
Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics, Trump said, “He’s
not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I
like people that weren’t captured.”
8
Critics were outraged that
Trump, who had avoided military service, would attack a highly
decorated former prisoner of war. Yet somehow Trump survived
the controversy. Opinion writers like CNN’s Chris Cillizza saw
this as a startling change in American politics—and not one for
the better:
“We’re going to win at
trade, we’re going to win at
the border. We’re going to
win so much, you’re going
to be so sick and tired of
winning.”
7
—Trump speaking at a 2016 rally in
Billings, Montana
