Editor’s note: With Donald Trump having won the Republican presidential nomination, Tuoi Tre News presents a series of articles by Dr. Terry F. Buss, a fellow at the U.S. National Academy of Public Administration, giving insights into how Trump could make what was previously an unimaginable story come true.

Many Republican voters, especially in the working class, dislike the Republican Party because its leaders over the past decade have made promises to get elected then reneged on them once elected. Not only did they not keep their promises, they also failed to stand up to Obama and his Democrat leadership. Republicans have a reputation for wanting to stay in office, not to do what they promised or do what Party traditionally stands for.

At the same time, many groups in the electorate—working class people, males, whites, less educated and Christian fundamentalists—feel that the economy is going badly for them while no one listens to their issues, especially the Republican establishment and Obama. They feel disenfranchised.

The frustration of Trump supporters are expressed in a Pew Poll in March. Some 75 percent believe their life has gotten worse in the past few years and 50 percent have difficulty with personal finances. Some 61 percent feel the economy is unfair to them and 67 percent feel trade agreements will cost them jobs. Statistics show that America’s middle class is shrinking and its lower class is becoming relatively poorer.

A 2016 Rand Poll found that 87 percent of Trump supporters complain that they do not have a voice in politics. The Pew Poll found that 50 percent of supporters were angry at government. Many people think the system is rigged against them. Trump campaigns on the notion that the Republican Party is cheating his supporters, furthering their sense of alienation.

Donald Trump understood the disaffection toward the Republican establishment and the punishing economy early on, then went on to exploit this more than anyone else running for president as a Republican. Trump has soundly defeated 16 “establishment” Republicans running for president over the past three months.

Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a rally with supporters in San Diego, California, U.S. May 27, 2016. Photo: Reuters

What people like about Trump

Ironically, Trump is a multi-billionaire, yet understands the plight of the disaffected. Trump is brash, rude, crude, aggressive, vindictive, but instead of having these negatives held against him, they are viewed as representing a person who speaks his mind, “tells it like it is,” is uncorrupted by the establishment, and cannot be bought.

Many people abhor Trump’s style, manners and behavior yet feel that he is better prepared to stand up against Islamic jihadists, North Korea, or Iran’s hard liners. Trump typically contrasts his undiplomatic style against key figures in the Obama administration including Clinton.

Refined people find the idea of Trump appalling, embarrassing and boorish, while his supporters see him as their leader and savior.

Trump has disrupted the American political scene as few have in the past century.

He has done so in ways that defy all conventional wisdom about how to win an election. Trump is an entrepreneur with no political or policy experience.

Supporters and detractors, alike, see Trump as follows: he advertises very little on television, yet receives an estimated $1 billion in television coverage for free. He has virtually no grassroots political organization, whereas Clinton has 800 staff working on her campaign. He makes no formal speeches preferring instead to speak for hours extemporaneously. He has no policy papers for review.

In spite of, or because of, all of this, he has a good chance of becoming the next president.

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