This week, there really is only one place to start. Jacki and Lyle are discussing the election (or, indeed, re-election) of Donald Trump, who earlier this month became the 47th President of the United States. Trump had, of course, also been elected the 45th President of the United States before losing the next election to Joe Biden, a man who he in essence defeated along the way to his latest election victory. But it was Kamala Harris, who assumed the Democratic candidacy after a desperate performance from Biden in a televised debate, that Trump ultimately defeated in the election on the 5th November this year. And it is Trump who will be inaugurated in January next year, becoming President for the second time, in a comeback many have described as similar to the likes of Tiger Woods, who won The Masters out of nowhere in 2019. Jacki and Lyle discuss the differences between the communications strategies of Trump and Harris. Harris is said to have conducted an almost perfect campaign, and was praised for doing so, but both Jacki and Lyle agree that it was missing something when it came to competing with the timing and single-issue messaging of Trump's at times chaotic strategy. Issues that appeared to be dominating the nation's discussion in the run-up to the election were the economy, abortion rights and immigration, but Harris and her team at times ran a multi-issue strategy that ultimately failed to resonate with voters. Trump, meanwhile, maintained a steadfast commitment to these single issues and, as Jacki points out, was also able to turn apparent criticism from all sides into campaign-worthy moments that captured the attention of the electorate. Lyle outlines from the outset that he is very much NOT a Trump supporter, with Jacki agreeing, but both also agree that his garbage truck stunt as a response to Biden's assertion that 'the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters' was strategically very astute, before Jacki also outlines the imagery that circulated after the assassination attempt on Trump's life earlier this year. Lyle takes us through some political trends that this most recent US election appears to have followed, such as Tony Blair's 'New Labour' win in 1997, Boris Johnson's 'Get Brexit Done' in 2019, and Ed Davey's success as Lib Dem leader throughout the most recent UK election. The Tony Hinchcliffe Puerto Rico incident is also mentioned, and Jacki raves about the podcast 'The Coming Storm' which had some fantastic coverage in the build up to the election itself. There is, as ever, time for a sporting analogy from Lyle, with this one being a pertinent one - Harris may have conducted a fine campaign, but that won't be being talked about in 6 months time. What will be, however, is that Donald J. Trump will be the next President of the United States, with Lyle asserting that history remembers those who win far longer than those who lose.
