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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDonald Trumps Populism Decoded: How a Billionaire Became the Voice of the Little People
Source:
Egbertowillies.com
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A key factor in understanding American populists is their drive to regain a lost status they once held but no longer claim in our economy and culture.
Behavioral economics teaches us that people are far more motivated to avoid a loss than acquire a gain and invest far more emotion to prevent a loss than benefit from a gain which suggests that politicians who promise to reaffirm the status of erstwhile dominant constituencies will gain far more enthusiastic support than those who simply promise new and bigger programs to help people pursue their American dream.
And that was precisely the magic behind Donald Trump's 2016 campaign: he promised his supporters that the only way to "make America great again" was by restoring their status as the ones who made America great in the first place which is exactly how they see themselves.
In particular, white working-class Americans Donald Trump's base were a constituency ripe for this message. To them, they were the real heroes of post-World War II America, the ones who made our prosperity and pre-eminence possible. Theirs is a narrative of an American century built by smokestack industries and sturdy white men with a blue-collar, lunch-pail ethic that would come to define the middle class of the post-war years.
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More at https://egbertowillies.com/2017/07/05/donald-trump-populism-decoded/
LisaM
(27,830 posts)People don't like, generally, comparing themselves to people who really did work their way to the top. They are more comfortable with electing someone who started out rich. I don't really get that, but it's so. Even the Carters were reasonably well to do. I think Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were anomalies (especially since neither had strong father figures). Where does Reagan fit into this? Not sure, though I would say that a lot of people who voted for him may not have been aware of his relatively humble roots and thought of him as a glamorous Hollywood figure.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)You literally have to divide it down to income and white men in order to make it a plausible argument.
LisaM
(27,830 posts)I'm just stating that the fact that Clinton (and Obama) were essentially self made stirs some resentment in some people.
As we've seen in all recent elections, there is a giant unpredictability factor, too.
Goonch
(3,614 posts)Mike Nelson
(9,966 posts)...Make America Great Again meant back to a time when there were no Black or female Presidents, no gay people getting married, and no need to learn new computer skills for a job market based on 20th century technology.
...also not to mention that, although Trump was elected, Hillary Clinton won - meaning her message was the most popular.
KG
(28,752 posts)Different Drummer
(7,642 posts)NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)and is deceptive as hell. Clinton won those making under 50,000 by pretty large numbers. I guess the populist label is only good for some if it's identifying white men.