Will The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan help put Trump back in power?

It's been more than a decade since Donald Trump last appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) shows as a special guest – but former stars are resurfacing and lending their support to his 2024 presidential campaign.

At this summer's Republican National Convention, Terry Bollea — aka Hulk Hogan, America's Hero — ripped off his shirt to reveal a bright red Trump 2024 tank top and, in a riff on his own slogan, exclaimed: “Let Trumpamania run. wild, brother!”

Last week, in an interview with wrestler-turned-media personality Tyrus, the former president warned his listeners that manhood was under attack and religion was mocked in the United States.

And on Monday, Trump – who recently canceled a series of interviews with mainstream media outlets – traded compliments on an hour-long podcast hosted by Mark Calaway, better known as the beloved WWE icon, The Undertaker.

“You know what you did? You made politics fun again,” Mr. Calaway said.

Listening attentively, with his hands clasped and a smile on his face, the three-time Republican presidential candidate responded approvingly: “Yeah.”

It may be an unusual place to campaign in the final days of a tight U.S. presidential race. But for Trump, the only WWE Hall of Famer to reach the White House, the visual is reverberating across social media.

Many Americans lose interest in politics until after an election year and then “just settle for what they remember most recently,” said Abraham Josephine Riesman, an independent journalist and author of the book Ringmaster : Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of. America.

Commenting on Trump's latest media strategy, Ms Riesman told the BBC: “There are a lot of people who listen to podcasts about the struggle, and you're going to have a lot of people who identify as apolitical or unorthodox.”

Young men are among the key groups the Trump camp hopes to attract using podcasts and social media as well as the wrestling world. These avenues have become essential to showcasing Trump, his advisers said in a recent interview with Semafor. Trump was “a star,” senior communications adviser Alex Bruesewitz told the site.

“I think what we're doing better this time than ever before is leveraging Trump as a person: Donald Trump's celebrity, Donald Trump's unparalleled aura, it's a very popular word on TikTok,” he said.

In her book Ringmaster, Ms. Riesman says that to understand the 78-year-old's rise, fall and return to American politics is to see him through the prism of professional wrestling – his art of blending fiction. and reality, its psychology of elevating emotion through hyperbole and its ability to transform the reviled into the righteous.

“In short, you tell truths, outright lies and half-truths in between, with always the same enthusiasm and sincerity,” Ms Riesman said.

But, she warns, the danger of politics becoming like wrestling is that it becomes “about thrills, about self-identification” rather than about policies and principles.

Long before entering politics, Trump grew up watching wrestling as a child in Queens, New York, and he always professed a deep respect for its larger-than-life performers.

His rise as a businessman has many parallels with the rise of WWE, under former CEO Vincent Kennedy McMahon, from a regional promotion to the largest in the world. Both men took the reins of family businesses and built empires.

Thriving under the deregulated capitalism of post-Reagan America, they also escaped scrutiny, with Trump later accused of stiffing workers and Mr McMahon of stripping his athletes of health benefits.

In the late 1980s, the two men's paths converged when Trump hosted WWE's flagship event, WrestleMania, two years in a row at his hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

In 2007, the two entered into a storyline rivalry, in which Trump challenged the WWE Chairman's authority and once even showered fans with dollar bills from the rafters.

“It was the first time Trump gave speeches to large, noisy crowds who wanted red meat,” Riesman said.

The feud culminated in a “Battle of the Billionaires” at WrestleMania 23, with wrestlers fighting on behalf of both men and a stipulation that the losing billionaire would have a shaved head.

The show generated more pay-per-view buys than any program the company had ever put on to that point, according to Bryan Alvarez, a longtime wrestling journalist and podcaster.

“There were a lot of matches on that show,” he said, “but people were great about the idea of ​​one of these guys getting his head shaved.”

Since his Hall of Fame induction in 2013, Trump has no longer appeared on WWE programming – and with his brand evolving and his weekly product diversifying, it's unlikely he will do so again. new.

But as president, he added Mr. McMahon's wife, Linda, to his cabinet as a small business administrator. She now also chairs the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute.

As Trump looks to return to the Oval Office, not all of the former WWE personalities are in the mix.

In a viral ad that aired last week on TV host Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show, former wrestler Dave Bautista – formerly known as “The Animal” Batista – ridiculed the contestant. the presidential election by calling him a “weak, stocky toddler” who “wears more makeup than Dolly.” Parton.”

“A lot of men seem to think that Donald Trump is some kind of tough guy. That's not the case,” he said.

Yet some of the most recognizable figures in professional wrestling history could help Trump break through in unconventional ways.

“If you ask a man on the street if he knows Hulk Hogan, even a non-fan will say yes. (Trump) hitches his wagon to people he considers to be big stars,” Mr. Alvarez told the BBC. .

“He’s a character, an entertainer, and the things he says, the way he attacks his opponents, the way he puts himself forward, it’s total professional wrestling.”

At one point during his interview with Trump on Monday, Mr. Calaway said that professional wrestlers, like politicians, have to “make people care” in order to truly excel.

“You’re a master at this,” he remarked as Trump leaned forward with interest.

“You have to make people care one way or another. They either love you or they hate you.”

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos