Donald Trump’s Fordian Slip: Two campaigns singing the same tune

The blustery rhetoric, the gross exaggerations and the demonization of critics. It all feels so oddly familiar.

I swear I’m still in Washington. I know that’s the Capitol building outside my window. Yet I can’t help but feel like I’m back working in the bowels of Toronto City Hall chasing around Rob Ford.

Donald Trump, you’ve done it. You’ve brought me full circle.

Who would have guessed that the campaign to be the most powerful person on the planet would feel just like another day under the clamshell at Toronto City Hall?

“Make America Great Again” is the new “Stop the Gravy Train.” And guess what? The public can’t get enough of it.

Both Ford and Trump have an uncanny ability to manipulate the news cycle for their benefit, a penchant for saying whatever they want without a care in the world, and a masterful understanding of a political scene that needs to be shaken up, badly.

READ MORE: Donald Trump visits Mexico border, claims Hispanics love him

Let’s start with their bravado. Donald Trump proclaimed “I will be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.” Rob Ford once offered that “I’ve been the best mayor that this city’s ever had.”

Both have faced accusations of overt racism. Rob Ford actually apologized for it.

Both have a tumultuous relationship with the media. Donald Trump scolded a reporter for the way they phrased a question. “That’s a typical case of the press with misinterpretation,” proclaimed Trump, at a press conference, “they take half a sentence, then they take a quarter of a sentence. They put it all together. It’s a typical thing.” Not far from Rob Ford’s comments about the Toronto press. “Bunch of maggots. No matter what you say… you’re never going to make them happy.”

Just as Donald Trump read out Senator Lindsey Graham’s cell phone number at a press conference to highlight their feud, Rob Ford once read out the licence plate of a media van parked outside his home in front of the cameras.

Watch: Trump reads out Graham’s cell phone number

Just as Ford soared in the polls the more he opened his mouth, so too has Trump. It baffles the political establishment, and it defies the logic that’s been ingrained in us: politicians aren’t supposed to be like either man.

I have a theory about the success of Rob and Donald, and it goes something like this: People, no matter their circumstance, class, education, job or anything else, love someone who promises to “stick it to the man.” If they can deliver, all the better.

READ MORE: Can Donald Trump’s rivals stop him? Or will his mouth be his downfall?

Voters are generally tired of meticulously sculpted, groomed and focus-grouped politicians. They want someone who is genuine, not more talking points. They want someone who has flaws and problems just like they do. Job qualifications, political lineage and policy suddenly take a back seat, even when there are serious issues on the table.

Some will accuse me of taking cheap shots, but I’m trying to make a point. The phenomenon is not to be taken lightly.

Yes, there’s a lot more at stake in the U.S. Presidential race (nuclear launch codes!) than at Toronto City Hall, but the things that have everyone talking about Trump are the same things that propelled Rob Ford into office.

Watch: Trump rising in polls despite controversial comments

Instead of dismissing Trump as a flash in the pan, “a jackass,” or a “cancer” as his rivals have said, they might be wise to take note.

Love him, or hate him, Rob Ford tapped into something very real – a moment in Toronto’s history when the ‘same old’ wasn’t good enough. In a crowded field of republican candidates, who aren’t exactly inspiring the masses, Trump seems on the verge of doing much the same. The more his rivals dismiss him, the better he seems to do.

As a well-known American columnist recently told me, Trump could do very well with “what the hell” voters. As in, “what the hell, we’ll vote for him” (though we probably won’t admit it to anyone). Something Rob Ford tapped into – even if supporters got more than they bargained for.

At the end of one campaign speech full of over-inflated rhetoric and big promises, applause erupted, and the music cranked on.

The song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” blared from the speakers as the candidate shook hands with supporters and walked off stage.

“Oh we’re not gonna take it, no, we ain’t gonna take it, oh we’re not gonna take it anymore!”

Was it Ford? Was it Trump? It was both, little more than 15 months apart.

Two campaigns singing the exact same tune.