Game Change for 2016: What will be written in 4 years?

[Crumpets]

One piece of analysis I imagine people would look at is the differences between Trump's early gaffes (McCain comments, etc.) and why he was able to move past those without losing much of a standing in the polls while in 2012, Bachmann, Gingrich, Perry, and Santorum could not. I think one of the things that people might look at was that in 2012, candidates were at the top of the polls for a few weeks before they made their gaffes. People thought "well, we gave them a shot, and they blew it." Trump made his big gaffes at the height of his surge, and I think rather than people looking elsewhere, had a gut reaction to defend him and think "come on now, let's hear what he has to say."

Another thing I think academia will look at with regard to this election is Trump as a traumatic coping mechanism for post-Bush Republicans and conservatives, allowing them to process the repressed shame they feel for the US's damaged standing in the late 2000s without having to take responsibility.