Trump and the Republican Brand Refresh

Abstract

The chapter will introduce the concept, introduce the history of the GOP brand since 2000 and then outline how Trump: (A) presented himself using Reagan’s branding, (B) developed a product that was more populist and harkened back to the kind of anger that Nixon and George Wallace had in the GOP back in the early 1970s, (C) branded as the restoration to a past, glorious America in which the rules were followed, the borders were secure, the values of the majority were valued most (both in racial and in cultural terms), there was no threat of terrorist violence, the economy worked for all and it didn’t require a grad degree to get a job that paid decent money, (D) the wall will get its own section because it shows how Trump followed the law of the visual in his marketing, (E) the legacy of the Obama campaigns on Trump will be briefly explored. Then, the piece will close with the extent to which the Trump brand refresh can or cannot refresh the GOP brand.