It is without a doubt that Ron Paul’s candidacy for the President in 2012 laid the groundwork for PDJT’s successful campaign in 2016. Ron Paul’s candidacy and the success of that candidacy to draw disaffected voters scared the bejeezus out of the Republican hierarchy. Rules were passed within the RNC to limit Ron Paul’s ability to speak at the convention that year.
Let’s be reminded that independent polls had predicted a dog fight between Barack Obama and Ron Paul if those were the two candidates in 2012.
Media coverage of Ron Paul’s candidacy steadily shrank despite his successes in straw polls and the like. When asked about this, Ron Paul said, “They don’t want to discuss my views, because I think they’re frightened by me challenging the status quo and the establishment.” Sound familiar?
During a November debate, Paul was allocated 90 seconds speaking time. Paul’s campaign responded, saying, “Congressman Paul was only allocated 90 seconds of speaking in one televised hour. If we are to have an authentic national conversation on issues such as security and defense, we can and must do better to ensure that all voices are heard. CBS News, in their arrogance, may think they can choose the next president.”
The media acted to suppress coverage in hopes of diminishing Ron Paul’s influence with the public. And it worked. Getting his message out became more difficult in a media blackout. Ron Paul did not have the financial resources to self fund his message.
There is little doubt that Donald Trump watched all of this and learned from it. In PDJT’s initial run for the presidency, he utilized free press coverage as a way to get the message out. This worked for several months until the media finally woke up. Once they did, PDJT had the self-funding to continue to broadcast his message.
Ron Paul gave a speech on the floor of the House on February 12, 2009. In it he questioned many aspects of American policy. Much of it resonated with PDJT and made it into Trump’s campaign in 2016. It is worth three and a half minutes of your time.
Once again America is at a crossroads where what we do as a country will determine the near-term destiny of our country. We need to choose freedom and liberty over the hatred and fear-mongering of the Communists on the Left.