Donald Trump: The Unconventional Populist

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Trump: The Unconventional Populist Donald Trump is a populist. His rhetoric is not the typical style of populists we have studied, such as Huey Long or Father Coughlin. Trump is an unconventional populist who encompasses ideas that appeal to “his people.” Donald Trump has a strong following. His wide range of supporters does not encompass immigrants, African Americans, or Muslims. His wide range of supporters are the white working class, who believe, they are being oppressed. When we evaluate populist traits of Trump, we need to understand how Trump gained such a strong following and similar traits Trump had to populists, such as Huey Long, Father Coughlin, Bob LaFollette, Robert Kennedy, and George Wallace. Populism is so unique that …show more content…

White working individuals who believed they were being oppressed in the society view Trump as a hero. He was going to “Make America Great Again” and “Drain the Swamp” of political corruption. Trump was going to bring jobs back to the United States and build a wall to reduce terrorism threats. They believed that Trump’s business expertise would give a better economic approach in politics than a politician would. On the other hand, Trump supporters also believed in his vision to fight for the common …show more content…

While Barrack Obama was president, white working class citizens believed we the country was failing to economically progress. Individuals were upset, frustrated, and tired of the direction the country was heading. With the overarching, rapid changes of the liberal agenda, many conservatives believed they were getting silenced in politics. In some ways, the country was failing to acknowledge conservatives. I would argue that Trump supporters were “change hungry” for a person who was not like the rest of the politicians in Washington D.C. From their perspective, Donald Trump was that outsider who said what needed to be said without fear out political backlash. To them, Trump was that businessman who came from the outside to rescue them from these drastic social changes that occurred and would rejuvenate postmodern ideals. Donald Trump was followed by the people who believed in his causes. Their support resulted in high voter turnout, vast political rally presence, and grassroots support. We could compare Donald Trump’s following support to Huey Longs. People were excited to hear both of them speak and instilled a faith in their movement that they would change things. Although Donald Trump’s following was not as strong as Long’s, they both inspired ordinary citizens to believe in the power of an ordinary

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