What difference can be expected by saying “Trump the Campaign ” instead of saying “the Trump Campaign"?
There was the following passage in New York Times’ (November 3) article that came under the title, “Donald Trump, Salesman and Politician, on Gilded Display in Manhattan”:
“Trump the Campaign and Trump the Marketing Machine are always difficult to disentangle. But whatever thin buffer had kept them separated the last few months evaporated entirely on Tuesday as Trump the Book ($25) went on sale inside Trump the Building during an hours-long spectacle that captured all the bizarre, endearing, comedic and repellent strands of his current career.”
I wonder what difference is there between “Trump the Campaign and Trump the Marketing Machine / Trump the Building” and “the Trump Campaign and the Trump Marketing Machine / the Trump Building.”
Are they same, or are there any meaningful gain by reversing order of “Trump” and “the”? In other word, what difference is there between 'the Obama Administration' and 'Obama the Administration' - though I think the latter expression is very odd?
Solution 1:
The Trump Campaign is a campaign that is about Trump; Trump qualifies campaign.
-
Trump the Campaign is another way of writing Trump, the Campaign (though not as clear). It is about Trump, as a campaign; campaign qualifies Trump.
In other words, it is about the campaign side/aspect/part of Trump. Trump the person is more than just the campaign (Trump the Campaign).
X the Y is a way of referring to the Y aspect of X. Think of A Streetcar Named Desire, the play versus A Streetcar Named Desire, the film (or the action toy or the book or the game or...).
Solution 2:
There are as many campaigns as there are candidates for the presidency of the United States. In particular, the campaign spearheaded by Donald Trump seems to be particularly impressive, for its scale, its cost, its larger-than-life candidate and for the amount of exposure the media has afforded it. And Donald Trump knows how to manipulate the media, he is an expert in publicizing himself, and he knows the world of show business.
Hence the name Trump has become a brand, a product, a huge financial business, as The New York Times aptly named him, Trump the Marketing Machine. He is also Trump the billionaire; Trump, the tycoon; Trump the Campaign; and finally: Trump. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
Solution 3:
The expression X the Y is very common in English, and I can see how it would be confusing. I suppose even for English speakers it takes a moment to think "Yeah, what do we mean by that?"
In the expression "The Trump Campaign" the focus is not on Trump, but rather on "Campaign" and "what kind of campaign?" If we extend this thinking to something not related, this might make more sense. "The blue Volkswagon." We're talking about a Volkswagon and it is blue, not Blue and it is a Volkswagon. So we have a campaign characterized by Trumpness or a building characterized by Trumpness.
Here is another example to help with this idea. Batman's sidekick Robin is sometimes referred to as "The Boy Wonder." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_(comics) not "The Wonder Boy" When we say "Boy Wonder" we are emphasizing "Wonderness" but that wonderness is young. If we switch it to "Wonder Boy" we are emphasizing that he is a boy who is wonderful.
Going back to Trump. When the expression Trump the X is used, a certain aspect of Trump is being emphasized. If you replace "the" with "who is a" or "who does" then I think this will make sense. Also, this construction is used to epitomize. In the movie "The Illusionist" Edward was introduced, "I give you Eisenheim, the illusionist." Also, at work is the idea that Trump is a kind of big machine or grand idea that has many aspects. This is why the article began by raising the subject of which is which. It is hard to tell if we are seeing the self-promotion side of Trump or the running-for-president side. I suppose if it were announced that Trump also does kids magic shows the newspapers could make titles: "Trump the Clown or Trump the President of the US? Not so obvious, lately."
So, to sum up and directly answer your question, "The Trump Campaign" talks about a campaign that Trump happens to run. Trump The Campaign is a way of epitomizing, showing a side of, and emphasizing an aspect of the Trump MACHINE.
Solution 4:
The standard usage, as you might have guessed, is "the Trump Campaign" / "the Trump Marketing Machine."
This usage from the NYT article is grammatically correct, but the construction is less common because its use is very specific. The article is saying, "Trump (one concept) is difficult to disentangle from Trump (another concept)." In other words, there are two concepts that are difficult to disentangle from each other, and both concepts have the same name (Trump). To distinguish them, the author added a clarification after each version.
This type of phrasing is not all that dissimilar from the way that we talk about characters in children's books: Bob the Cat, Chester the Dog, Daisy the Elephant. Yes, you could say "the dog Chester" -- but not "the Chester Dog" (ever). The difference is that "the dog Chester" means you have someone named Chester who is a dog. By contrast, "Chester the Dog" is more of a title ("the Dog" is part of the name; hence the capitalization).
The phrase "the Trump campaign" refers generally to the campaign run by Donald Trump. The phrase "Trump the Campaign" refers to the business entity named Trump that is being particularly highlighted for its function as a campaign. There is thus a shift in emphasis.
Solution 5:
In-line the other answers, the difference between the two phrases is in their perceived emphases. The Trump Campaign can be perceived as his (Trump's), campaign, or his (Trump's), possession. Conversely, Trump the Campaign implies that Trump is the campaign's possession.This phrasal restructuring can also be taken as either a derogatory or complimentary remark depending on the context. (Trump has been overtaken by the campaign or Trump is made up of the campaign)