Donald Trump gave a speech celebrating his primary victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday night — and it went exactly as you’d expect.
Donald Trump didn’t even bother with the humblebrag — he went straight for the brag
But perhaps no line defined the speech more than Trump’s boldest claim yet, which he’s used before on the campaign trail: “I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.”
It’s somewhat difficult to understand how we got to a point where Trump actually won an election. But one thing that sets Trump apart from the rest of the field, as Vox’s Ezra Klein previously explained, is his amazing focus on shamelessly bragging and selling his message.
Just look at these other moments in Trump’s speech:
- On how the other candidates’ good campaigns show he is actually great: “We have some very talented people. And to be victorious against some of these people, even if it’s for one week.”
- On how he called his own win a year ago: “You know, I said it and I said it a year ago, I said I’m going [to New Hampshire] and it’s so beautiful and I love it so much and I love the people and I said, ‘I actually think they like me a lot,’ and then all of a sudden we started getting numbers in, and everyone said, ‘How come they like Trump so much?’”
- On the crowds he attracts: “What a group of people. And on top of this group, we have thousands of people outside that can’t even get in. That’s what we have, thousands of people.”
- And, of course, on how he (“we”) will make America great again as president: “We are going to make our country so strong. We are going to start winning again. As a country we don’t win on trade, we don’t win with the military, we can’t beat ISIS. We don’t win with anything. We are going to start winning again, and we’re going to win so much, you are going to be so happy. We are going to make America so great again, maybe greater than ever before.”
This is what makes Trump’s speeches incredible. They’re always on the same message: Trump is a winner, and he’ll make America win.
Are his claims always right? Nope. Does he have specific, realistic policies? Not really. Is Trump racist, xenophobic, and misogynist? You bet.
But he just won one of the crucial states for the Republican presidential nomination — and his ability to always frame himself as a winner helps explain why.
