Are we watching the fall of Donald Trump?
So far, the Donald Trump campaign is built off playing good cop bad cop.
When he announced he was running, Donald was very clear he was going to run a campaign unlike anyone had ever seen. He was going to self-fund the entire thing, and by doing so he would prove to the American people he meant business and that he was the lone outsider separate from private interests and Washington lobbyists.
At the beginning, people are it up! By and large, they still do.
Trump also said that he was going to play a clean game and not insult or attack any of his opponents unless they did so first. Because, after all, that’s not the kind of guy he is. Just ask him and he’ll tell you he’s a ‘nice guy.’
In the beginning, this strategy worked well among those who supported him. In fact, it worked in his favor to garner even more support which caused many to think he was unstoppable.
So, what happened?
Polls.
The polls started to show a favorable turn toward Ted Cruz, and for some reason, he felt threatened for the first time.
Enter bad cop mode.
Now that Trump was not the top dog, being the Alpha male he is, he attacked. It’s the only natural thing to do for him at this point.
Unfortunately, it was not a wise decision. It went against his original principle to run a clean campaign. This didn’t sit well with many fence-sitters.
Now, because he entered bad cop mode, it put him in defensive mode. In doing so, he made a costly error to sit out of the debate just before the Iowa caucus. He took a gamble, and it proved to be harmful. He likely thought it would play out in his favor, once again establishing his ‘I’m not like the other guys’ strategy.
The problem is that many viewed this as a childish temper tantrum. And it also brought out the Donald he tried so hard not to be. People already perceived him as being hungry for power and completely full of himself.
Being the savvy business person he claims to be, a few thought he would adjust his strategy back to playing good cop. The last thing he wants to do is jeopardize his chance of doing well in New Hampshire.
However, continuing the bad cop image has the possibility of doing more harm than good. Spouting off in a tirade, almost in a fit of rage, he stands the chance of tarnishing his image; one that he likely would not be able to correct during the election cycle.
To Donald, nothing is more important than his image. If he doesn’t win in New Hampshire it would be a drastic blow to his image. He wants people to think of him as a winner, not a loser or even the guy that came in second place.
Ideally, for Donald Trump to continue and be a prominent figure in this race, he needs to refocus his campaign strategy.
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