BY ALEXANDRA ROSENMANN/ALTERNET
(This article is republished here with due permission from AlterNet. It was first published here)
Despite his “sh*t show” of a campaign, no one can doubt Trump’s momentum; especially not liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, who, for months, has urged mainstream media not to underestimate Donald Trump.
Though he may get no pleasure from being right, Moore told Business Insider in December 2015 that “Donald Trump is absolutely going to be the Republican candidate for president of the United States.”
And last night, returning to “Real Time With Bill Maher,” Moore made another terrifying prediction.
“I’m sorry to be the buzzkill… but I think Trump is gonna win,” Moore told host Bill Maher. According to the filmmaker, here’s why:
1. The Rust Belt/Brexit Strategy
“Mitt Romney lost by 64 electoral votes. The total votes of [Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania ]… 64,” Moore told Maher. “All he has to do is win those four states.”
2. The Trump Family
Trump’s main surrogates—his own family—have become Republican National Convention superstars, and their testimonials really cause voters to consider, “well if he raised them, he can’t be so bad, right?” Moore points out that the family members are not really looking like the “hostages” liberal voters might have thought they would. In fact, “between [Melania] and the children, none of them have offered any of the sort of anecdotes that you would expect,” Moore pointed out.
3. Make America Great Again? How About Just Reality Television
Moore believes Trump doesn’t even want to be in the White House; that he’ll give it to Mike Pence and his children after buying an estate in Fairfax. “The thing that we’re describing… ‘Make America Great Again’… He’s gonna turn his presidency into a reality show; a literal reality show. But if I say that, millions are gonna go, ‘F*ck yea,’” Moore said.
4. Angry White Men Vote
While statistically Trump needs as many as seven out of 10 white guys to win the presidency, Moore insists that angry white men are incredibly dependable when it comes to voting. “White men over 35 are only 19 percent of the country, but that’s 40 million voters, and I’m telling you they’re going to be out there [at the polls],” Moore said.
5. The Two Sides Don’t Even Talk Anymore
It’s worth investigating the yearlong conundrum of why poor, middle-American voters identify so well with an ego-centric real estate mogul from New York. “When you say he hasn’t read a book in his adult life, you’ve just described the majority of Americans. Get out of your bubble, everybody!” Moore urged.
(Alexandra Rosenmann is an AlterNet associate editor. Follow her @alexpreditor. The opinions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Canary Trap or any employee thereof)