Explaining Trump Using Chimpanzee Politics

Historically, successful political figures are seen as individuals who possess a high level of integrity and are seen as moral agents. However, this view of leadership has recently been challenged in the political sphere. In 2016, Donald Trump became the president of the US. Many are perplexed as to how a candidate like Donald Trump was able to rise to presidency and some may view this as an accident. Many wonder how Trump was capable of achieving this position. Public opinion polls and electoral may offer some information as to why Trump was able to win the 2016 Presidential Election, but there are additional attributes that explain Trump’s success. A more primal explanation that can illustrate what creates a successful leader is through the explanations, such as Chimpanzee Politics. This study will examine the chimpanzee politics theory as applied to the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign to explain the appeal of Donald Trump. A more primal explanation that can illustrate what creates a successful leader is through the explanations, such as Chimpanzee Politics. Frances de Waal’s work on Chimpanzee Politics will be used as a conceptual framework for this study. A literature review will be conducted on published research conducted that have used De Wals’ concept of chimpanzee politics. By applying De Wals’ framework, this study will seek to provide an explanation of how Trump was able to succeed in the 2016 election