I felt from the very beginning of Donald Trump appearance as presidential candidate that to mention him in any positive is a sin to political correctness. Any rational debate about Trump phenomena was impossible from the very beginning since he was seen not only as outsider to a political elite, but even more to what is considered as western cultural and intellectual elite. He was and he still is rude, unpredictable, unbehaved, illiterate and with appalling (fake) haircut. Since he has fake haircut, he also conveys fake speech.

Further down there is a post I have written on April 3rd 2016. Unchanged.

This was my 2016 post:

I have received a mail from Mike Fishbein today regarding my blog referring to this article that I was unaware while writing mine. After recognizing it is an article from Al Ries, I went numb. How come? I do apreciate Al Ries, but this article really oversimplifies both Donald Trump success and some branding issues as well. And by the way: Al obviously went completely wrong since Jeb Bush that he praised is already out of the game.

But then I read Mike Fishbein article on Trump and 12’ve things he Learned About Marketing From Donald Trump. I liked his post much more. Why? Because he recognized that branding rules are not static. For instance he was the first (at least from my knowledge) that he recognized true value of Donald Trump hairstyle.

It would be wrong to assume that branding should go with the prevailing style. It would be as well wrong to assume that branding should go against prevailing style. It has to go with the brand style (brand internal value). You can not tell in advance what style would (should) work in any particular case. Hairstyle is one of brand’s moments of truth that should be aligned with all other moments of truth. Particular Donald Trump hairstyle obviously is aligned with his other identity elements. That is why it works despite being against all contemporary fashion trends.

An this is exactly why Al Ries is completely wrong assuming that brand (political brand) should stick to one issue only. Brand can not stick to one issue only. Trump tackles all issues and not immigrants only. But he tackles all issues (or at least many issues) with easily recognized set of values. beware: “set of values” and not one value only. Donald Trump seems as a single-issue plain one-dimensional brand. How far from the truth! No brand can be one dimensional! One dimensional brand is contradictio in adjecto. That left intellectuals disregard Donald Trump brand as one dimensional and “stupid” tells us only that such intellectuals lost a grip with reality.

Branding is too serious business to leave it to intellectuals.

So: Thanks Mike for provocation!

And this is what comes out three and half years later:

Famous Slavoj Žižek, man who influenced intellectual scene in Slovenia in ’80 even more that is his global impact in 2nd millenia that launched him as global star, supports certain views that I can definitely not subscribe to now. Lacan psychoanalysis that he transcribed in popular language was then seen as a sign of liberation of mind from totalitarian oppression. It is now quite obvious that I/we have misjudged the ideology behind completely. It is clear now, not only from Slavoj personal development, that one can not take psychoanalysis as separated from authoritarian and even totalitarian ideology as its axiomatic value background.

It came thus as a huge surprise for global sect of intellectuals, that Slavoj preferred Donald to Hillary. Not only this famous article from Independent, but many other similar pushed Slavoj in a sort of isolation. As he stated recently in one Croatian newspaper, above mentioned sect, that praised him couple of years ago, now prevents him to publish in papers like The Guardian, The London Review of Books and New York Times. It is Independent, partly owned by one of Putin oligarch only, that still publishes him.

What a paradox!

Really?

Not at all. At least not for me. What I predicted in 2016 comes true even for a celebrity like Slavoj Žižek. Contemporary intellectual elite that emerged in Berkeley with flower power movement and holds all important positions from primary education to Nobel Prize committee, cannot accept anyone to challenge progressivist standpoints. To use Slavoj own statement: communists (represented by contemporary intellectual elite nowadays) prosecute their own members with even greater fierce that those that are outsiders from the very beginning.

Final remark

Please note that one position, preference of Donald over Hillary does not make Slavoj anti-authoritarian as much as Nobel Prize to Peter Handke does not make (yet) Nobel Prize committee liberal – conservative.