Why is Trump a concern for Korea?
US elections don't hold more or less merit than say the recent elections in Seychelles (the smallest country in Africa), but US hegemony makes its elections hard to ignore. So the attitude, "I don't care about Korean politicians, why should I care about a US politician?" expresses a frightening level of political ignorance. Being informed is crucial. For example, it is important to know that a Trump presidency has ramifications for Korea. He plans to impose export tariffs on Korea. Moreover, he wants Korea to pay up or the US will pull out 28,500 US soldiers. All the while North Korea, as reported in Rodong Sinmun, believes "the policy would be a godsend for the North…" but a godsend for what remains to be seen.
Why is Trump so popular?
He's a celebrity. Imagine the media presence of Yoo Jae Suk and apply it to Trump. In act, every Christmas, Koreans see him in Home Alone 2. He markets himself by exploiting this media presence. He boasts, "They say that I have had $2 million dollars' worth of free air time" and admits that his controversies help him get media attention. More publicity feeds his narcissism(1) and to the myth of Donald Trump.
He says what he wants. Envision the ho-nesty of Sohn Suk Hee and apply it to Trump. Comments which degrade women to "Pig. Dog. Slob. Disgusting animal." Comments which degrade Mexicans to "Rapists." Comments which degrade President Obama to "the founder of ISIS." But outlandishness doesn't equate to honesty. According to PolitiFact, 71% of what Trump says is a lie.(2) People don't consider the depth of the lies that make the man.
He's a fresh newbie without political entanglements. Visualize the debut of Kim So Hui at the Rio Olympics and apply it to Trump. His inexperience makes him seem like a relatable, trustworthy, anti-elite candidate. But he can't be trusted. He once said, "I give to everybody…. When I need something from them, I call them, and they are there for me." So, a newbie to politics-yes, but to wheeling and dealing-no.
He's a self-made millionaire through hard work. Consider Dok2's rags to riches story and apply it to Trump. Unlike Dok2 though, Trump had a rich father who gave him millions to start businesses or save fai-ling enterprises from mismanagement.(3) Nor does Trump really care about the working class. He believes that China is "raping [the US]." But as a businessman, he "has been stiffing American steel wor-kers… choosing to deprive untold millions of dollars from [US states] and instead directing it to China."(4) All this leads one to wonder how hard he will work for Americans, let alone how he will manage a country.
He's a problem-solver with easy solutions. Picture the solutions Kim Mi Kyeong provided during her lecture and apply it to Trump. Don't like immigrants? Build a wall! Trump makes it seem like he will get things done,(5) but that wall won't ever happen. A nearly 2,000 mile concrete wall could cost up to $25 billion.(6) Whether or not remittance flow is blocked, Mexican presidents have said they will never do so. His solutions are sound bites to grab people's approval.
Who are these supporters?
First, Americans are fed up with the political system and their lives. According to the Pew Research Center, "Trump suppor-ters overwhelmingly believe that life in America is worse than it was 50 years ago 'for people like them.' Fully 81% of registered voters who support Trump say life has gotten worse." Combine this despondency with 8 years of a democrat president and the US public becomes more polarized. Political polarization and pessimism make the pendulum swing toward a radical solution embodied by Trump.
Second, Trump did not suddenly make the US more racist, but the majority race is reacting to a globalized society. The New York Times reports that Trump has the particular support of "white men without a degree." These white men without a degree find it hard to adjust to a competitive job market. So it is easy for Trump to manipulate and incite this group to scapegoat immigrants. Take for example Trump supporter Paul Weber's reasoning that "[immigrants] get everything and the people that were born here can't get everything."(7)
Why is there a bigger danger?
There are many Trumps in the western world. In the UK, there is Nigel Farage. In France, there is Marine Le Pen. In Russia, there is Valdimir Putin. These Trumps re-present right-wing populism in the western world. Scarier yet is that xenophobia, globalization, and frustration with life and politics could give rise to a Korean Trump. Chun Sang Jin, a Sogang University professor, says that South Korea "has fertile ground for a populist movement to thrive." Right-wing populism appearing and thriving, especially if Trump should win, is a danger to democracies around the world.
Furthermore, if Trump is elected, it e-choes a similar case from history: right-wing populism in the form of Nazism. Hitler rose to power rather unnoticed, but Ilya Somin writes that "if the average German voter was 'well-informed,' it would have been much harder for the Nazis to achieve so much electoral success."(8) Any perusal of Mien Kampf would have eliminated a great deal of political ignorance. Instead, the German people wrote him off as a "ranting clown"(9) and bought into Hitler's propaganda. Buying into Hitler's propaganda is the same as buying into Trump's self-marketing, lies and sound bites. Before blindly believing in such rhetoric, people must be politically aware.
Trump supporters believe in Trump wi-thout critically considering his marking and this willful ignorance of politics can be simply remedied. No one today needs to read The Art of the Deal to know that Trump will not be a good leader like it might have been prudent for Germans in 1925 to have read Mein Kampf to know of his genocidal intentions. Unlike them, we have more access to information. It takes time and energy to research Trump's claims and character but as responsible citizens, people need to care about their nation's politicians. Political awareness is all it takes to see right through the fa?ade of any Trumps and right-wing populism. Therefore it is not just that people must be informed about why Trump or any past, present or future Trumps of the world but why any politician ever.
Prof. Tara Beck
(M.A.College of Liberal Arts)
(1) A very frightening read but makes a good case to show not only the pathological lying but also the narcissism of Trump: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all
(2) Politico Magazine reports, "Though Clinton spoke for less than half as long as Trump, extrapolating the frequency of her misstatements suggests that even if she, too, spoke for as many hours as Trump, he'd still surpass her nearly four times over."
(3) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/sep/27/trump-clinton-first-debate-fact-checks/
(4) http://www.newsweek.com/how-donald-trump-ditched-us-steel-workers-china-505717
(5) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jul/15/donald-trumps-top-10-campaign-promises/
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/hillary-clinton-not-giving-winning-ohio-n658901
http://www.ontheissues.org/Donald_Trump.htm
(6) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2016/jul/26/how-trump-plans-build-wall-along-us-mexico-border/
(7) http://www.ibtimes.com/why-donald-trump-so-popular-18-reasons-why-trump-could-win-november-according-media-2393839
(8) http://volokh.com/2012/01/07/the-nazis-and-political-ignorance/
(9) https://www.theguardian.com/education/2007/nov/14/research.highereducation