Trump Is No Populist

Jonathan Chait: “Since Donald Trump began his golden escalator voyage nine years ago, the word populist has enveloped him like a protective cloak. His dangerous rhetoric gave him enough of an air of menace to help expand his party’s appeal to working-class voters without having to follow it up with any substantive moves that would alienate its healthy funding base.”

“The ruse was given just enough plausibility by Trump’s congenital ignorance of economic substance. His vague, contradictory rhetorical gestures created ambiguity, out of which pundits could discern the hazy outlines of an emerging workers’ party.”

“By this point, however, it should be abundantly clear that no such party is forthcoming. Trump has had nearly a decade to firm up his brand of economic populism, and he is farther away from anything coherent than he was when he started.”