Scott Adams (Dilbert cartoonist) on Trump
http://blog.dilbert.com/post/126589300371/clown-genius
(FWIW, Scott Adams is kind of a sexist asshole, but this is a good post. Also, I absolutely agree with him that every single person in the US should take at least one "branding" or "selling" class or job (preferably personal sales), mostly just to recognize when it's being done to you.)
And what did you think of Trumps famous "Rosie ODonnell" quip at the first debate when asked about his comments on women? The interviewers questions were intended to paint Trump forever as a sexist pig. But Trump quickly and cleverly set the "anchor" as Rosie ODonnell, a name he could be sure was not popular with his core Republican crowd. And then he casually admitted, without hesitation, that he was sure he had said other bad things about other people as well.
Now do you see how the anchor works? If the idea of "Trump insults women" had been allowed to pair in your mind with the nice women you know and love, you would hate Trump. That jerk is insulting my sister, my mother, and my wife! But Trump never let that happen. At the first moment (and you have to admit he thinks fast) he inserted the Rosie ODonnell anchor and owned the conversation from that point on. Now hes not the sexist who sometimes insults women; hes the straight-talker who wont hesitate to insult someone who has it coming (in his view).
But it gets better. You probably cringed when Trump kept saying his appearance gave FOX its biggest audience rating. That seemed totally off point for a politician, right? But see what happened.
Apparently FOX chief Roger Ailes called Trump and made peace. And by that I mean Trump owns FOX for the rest of the campaign because his willingness to appear on their network will determine their financial fate. BAM, Trump owns FOX and paid no money for it. See how this works? Thats what a strong brand gives you.