What so obviously propelled Trump to victory (see “Much More Than Trump“) in 2016 —his voters despised the government and the people who presume to rule us—continues to elude our rulers and their mainstream media lackeys. From Jeffrey A. Tucker at brownstone.org:
One might suppose that the voices of mainstream media and elite culture in general would be more self-critical than they are. They seem to have developed an amazing shell around themselves to protect their own intellectual and psychological well-being from reality itself. It’s having to grow ever thicker, which only ends in an ever-graver alienation from the public they seek to rule.
Consider. The betting odds favor Trump for the presidency by 40 percent, whereas Biden is at 31 percent. This follows fully nine years of nonstop attacks, two impeachments, and countless legal harassments. No candidate for public office has been pummeled so many times by so many. And yet Trump thrives despite all of this, or even because of all of this.
Yes, he has rhetorical skill, but there is more going on than pure demagoguery.
We look for writers in the corporate press who seem to understand why. They’re hard to find. Most writings on this topic attribute it all to a wave of cult behavior, the rise of theocratic Christian nationalism, xenophobia, or just ignorance. Sure, there might be signs of this or that, but come on! At some point, one might suppose these people would consider the possibility that normal people are not keen to be forever ruled by a rarified elite that represents the powerful and rich and has no regard for the life aspirations of the regular person.
