No one expected Donald Trump's rise to the top of the GOP race. No one. Comedians who paid attention to him might have prayed for it. Democrats might have hoped to paint other Republicans with the sleaze that he oozes. But no one expected that he will become the serious candidate for Presidency he is now. Even now, most Democrats are in denial.
We think he will go away. Self destruct. Every week, we are assured, this time he has gone too far. And yet there he is, with 30% of the GOP vote. Leading in Iowa. Forcing Scott Walker off the map. Getting Rick Perry to suspend (whatever that means) his campaign. It is time to look into this phenomenon. Even if he does flame out in the end (and I still think he will) it is important to know what got him this far. And what that says about US.
Trump is too so much of a celebrity that there is nothing more to know about him. But who are his supporters? Why does he resonate with so many? A key observation is by Gwenda Blair, his biographer.
his audience for this presidential run is this angry, middle American, disenfranchised, seething mass of people who feel like they've been ripped off, they haven't got what they deserved, they haven't gotten the prestige, and the respect, that they think they deserve, and somebody's to blame – some group is to blame. To appeal to that group of people, he's been very shrewd about going after all manner of other targets, and I think that's the calculus – not whether to be a Republican or a Democrat.
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Not surprising perhaps, but still worth understanding. There is a large swath of America that has lost out on the new economy. Without the skills or the connections they are stuck at the bottom.
Trump gets this. He pounced on Bush for having a skill that the oh-so-smart Donald does not possess:
I like Jeb,He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.
Set an example. Because nice people, people like US cannot speak another language.
It does not matter to Trump whether he is a Democrat of Republican. In fact, his audience is neither. There are as many Democrats who feel disenfranchised. Trump's appeal extends to many people who post here on Daily Kos, even if they do not use the same inflammatory language. Despite seven years of economic expansion, too many people are underemployed. To get Trump we need to understand why that happened.
Trump and Sanders are both reacting to this. Sanders attracts the more enlightened crowd that blames the 1% and the Government bailout of banks for it. Trump attracts the "seething mass" who blames immigrants. Not all of them are Republicans. The vast majority do not vote. If Trump can mobilize them, he will be a formidable general election candidate. Dismissing him as a freak is not enough. Even if he self-destructs ( at this point only The Donald can defeat himself) the basic problem remains. Some other politician will seize the opportunity.
Can Sanders or Clinton come up with a better response? One is reminded of the scene in the movie Primary Colors when Jack Stanton (obviously modelled on Bill Clinton) tells his blue collar audience that the factory is not going to reopen. He can only help them deal with the transition. Sanders seems to have the empathy to talk to people that way. Possibly also Biden. But can Hillary do it? Can Bill do it for her?