ABSTRACT
This chapter uses the concept of invited behavior to explore how Donald Trump adapted methods from reality television to connect to his voters, engaging with their anxiety and alienation and offering himself as their “voice” and their “winner,” in order to become President of the United States. The techniques he employed echo earlier forms of “invited behavior,” in which candidates invite their potential voters to feel a personal connection with the politician, but were rooted in the paradigm of Reality TV, in which contestants win by being aggressive and by being the most outsized personality. This shift in approach and Trump’s victory raise a fundamental question: Will the politics of the United States be henceforth based on earlier political norms or on the new pseudo-reality created by the methods of Reality TV?
