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Understanding The Trump Phenomenon: It's Not What The Elites Think
Mises Institute ^ | 02/19/2024 | Lipton Matthews

Posted on 02/19/2024 8:46:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Donald Trump has won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and is leading in the polls to become the Republican candidate for the presidency in the upcoming general election. His status as the most likely contender to challenge Joe Biden is upsetting establishment figures who think that Trump’s ascent threatens democracy. Trump is constantly pilloried by the mainstream media as a demagogue who emboldens the racist underbelly of American society. Emotions run rampant, but Trump’s villainy has been grossly exaggerated.

After winning the presidency in 2016, pundits thought that Trump would revert America to an era of racism. These predictions swayed many even though they failed to materialize. Donald Trump did not govern as a racist but rather pandered to racial minorities and women. Trump constantly pitched economic plans to galvanize the support of blacks and Hispanics. Like previous presidents he endorsed policies to promote women in science to the dismay of critics and was a relentless advocate for female empowerment.

During his tenure, Trump collaborated with nonwhite communities and often boasted that he had done more for them than previous presidents. Racism and sexism were not the hallmark of his presidency. Trump earnestly borrowed from the liberal playbook by passionately selling his message to minorities. Being an astute politician, Trump quickly endeared himself to women and minorities, instead of pandering to the chauvinism of white nationalists. In fact, Trump bolstered his popularity in minority communities but received diminishing support from whites.

Trump’s presidency was fixated on expanding his base of minority supporters to such a great extent that readers were frequently bombarded with stories explaining his outreach to minority communities. The gains made by blacks and Hispanics under the Trump presidency were covered extensively by the media. Unemployment rates for blacks, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and disabled individuals plummeted to record lows. Declining poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics were also consistent with the Trump presidency’s trends of progress.

However, the benefits of the Trump presidency also extended beyond minority groups to encompass the broader American population, with low-income and blue-collar groups registering considerable wage gains. Trump presided over a buoyant economy despite the criticisms of opponents. The unjustified charges of racism and incompetence leveled against Trump reflect the derangement of critics unwilling to appreciate his mass appeal.

Trump’s rhetoric is incendiary, but beyond his uncouth remarks, he is not vastly different from other presidents. Indeed, there are parallels between Trump and Biden. During his stint, Trump was bullish on China. His contempt for China led to the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports; however, this proved to be a costly economic policy. Aimed at penalizing China, the policy had the reverse effect of raising prices for American businesses. President Biden has preserved elements of Trump’s antitrade policy and is equally bullish on China.

In 2022, citing national security reasons, Biden announced a ban on the export of semiconductors to China. Further, the administration has prohibited US firms from conducting investment in some of China’s high-tech industries. Similarly, both men advocate protectionism and Buy-America requirements. Although Trump has a more free-market approach to economics, this is not what makes Trump fundamentally different from Biden.

The primary difference is that Biden is a globalist and Trump is an antiglobalist. Donald Trump will not cede sovereignty to global institutions nor rabidly conform to the hysteria of the global environmental movement. Canceling the Keystone Pipeline to appease climate alarmists would not have been an option for Trump. This inane policy shuttered eleven thousand jobs without any serious analysis of the decision. With a Trump presidency, the ability of globalists to exert control over America’s affairs will decline, and that’s why Trump is so loathed by elites: he threatens globalism.

International organizations won’t find it easy to manipulate Trump into doing their bidding. For example, Trump revoked America’s participation in the Paris Agreement that intended to limit warming to 1.5 degrees despite lacking a coherent economic case for doing so. Furthermore, Trump will not enslave America to net-zero targets that run into the trillions. Critics will smear Trump to dissuade Americans from electing him, but even if he is unfit to be President again, his victories in Iowa and New Hampshire indicate that the demand for Trumpism could catapult him to a second presidential victory.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; Front Page News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2024; maga; maga2024; phenomenon; presdjtrump; trump; trumpphenomenon; trumprocks
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1 posted on 02/19/2024 8:46:35 PM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

“ establishment figures who think that Trump’s ascent threatens democracy”

Trump threatens libtard grifters


2 posted on 02/19/2024 8:50:23 PM PST by NWFree (Sigma male 🤪)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Trump’s rhetoric is incendiary, but beyond his uncouth remarks, he is not vastly different from other presidents.”

The primary difference is, he is not a globalist.


3 posted on 02/19/2024 9:12:44 PM PST by NoLibZone (We have the nation we deserve The bad guys are willing to protest and riot while we email.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The establishment elitists don’t get it because they hate America. They think they do but they don’t.

They see all of their faults in those who do love America and Trump is the figurehead for that.


4 posted on 02/19/2024 9:15:04 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To clarify my second sentence above ...

They think they love America but they don’t.


5 posted on 02/19/2024 9:17:10 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: SeekAndFind
His contempt for China led to the imposition of tariffs on Chinese imports; however, this proved to be a costly economic policy.

Because it led to China releasing the Wuhan lab virus to shut the economy down.

6 posted on 02/19/2024 9:34:52 PM PST by P.O.E. (Pray for America.)
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To: NoLibZone

The Liberals are blind to Trump’s greatness. History will be kind to him. His greatest days are yet ro come. Many hated Lincoln while he was alive.


7 posted on 02/19/2024 9:39:57 PM PST by Forward the Light Brigade ( Ride to the sound of the Guns!)
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To: NoLibZone

Nor is he a politician. Trump talks the way regular people talk, not the mealy-mouthed policically-correct bullshit of academia, politicians, or the chattering class of elites.


8 posted on 02/19/2024 9:40:16 PM PST by bigbob ( )
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To: NoLibZone

That’s right.


9 posted on 02/19/2024 9:43:53 PM PST by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: NWFree

I’d like to see those spoiled leftist bully brats suffer greatly. I’m fed up with those miscreants and cretins.


10 posted on 02/19/2024 9:44:53 PM PST by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: TigersEye
The establishment elitists don’t get it because they hate America.

The globalists like America only to the extent to which she pumps up their portfolios.

11 posted on 02/19/2024 9:56:30 PM PST by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: lightman

Yep. They love America the way fleas love a dog.


12 posted on 02/19/2024 9:59:45 PM PST by TigersEye (Our Republic is under seige by globalist Marxists. Hold fast!)
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To: SeekAndFind

“...who think that Trump’s ascent threatens democracy.”

**************************************************************

That’s a lie. They don’t “think” any such thing.

They are worried Trump will bring some common sense back to the country, end all the “wokeness”, and close the border.


13 posted on 02/19/2024 10:01:43 PM PST by Sir Bangaz Cracka (Poor 'lil Travon bees slamming dat white cracka'a head into dat sidewalk causin he be scared)
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To: NWFree

“ establishment figures who think that Trump’s ascent threatens democracy”

Trump threatens libtard grifters>>>> His biggest threat is because he is competent. He threatens all the commies both republican and democrat. In PA he will not win because the republican commie baby killers will vote dem. Look at the results from last november in republican enclaves. THere is a two to four percent defection rate between local republican tallies and the state wide supreme court tallies. They vote republican locally but at the state level they vote dem. to support the baby killers. These are republicans.


14 posted on 02/19/2024 10:02:38 PM PST by kvanbrunt2
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To: SeekAndFind


"instead of pandering to the chauvinism of white nationalists"


They just can't hold back...
15 posted on 02/19/2024 10:04:10 PM PST by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
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To: kvanbrunt2

In 2016 Trump won PA because the Amish outvoted the Filthadelphia Fraudsters.

2020 saw more “blue” counties emerging: Centre, home of Penn State University (no surprise) and Dauphin, home of the State’s Capital plus a huge minority population—and that isn’t accounting for the massive fraud in Filthy.

120% “turnout” and we are expected to accept that on pain of being accused of being a “J6er” or other “treat to democracy”?


16 posted on 02/19/2024 10:12:52 PM PST by lightman (I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
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To: SeekAndFind

Trump calls them communists. That’s who they are. It drives them crazy. Communism is a bad brand.


17 posted on 02/20/2024 12:19:33 AM PST by DeplorablePaul
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To: SeekAndFind
It was late in the 2016 race when I finally figured it all out: Trump appealed to a broad spectrum of American voters who have completely lost faith in their government and other American institutions. As one astute associate of mine pointed out: “I voted for Trump because Ronald McDonald wasn’t on the ballot.”

The good news today is that the number of Americans with this sentiment has grown by the tens of millions since 2020.

18 posted on 02/20/2024 12:34:15 AM PST by Alberta's Child (If something in government doesn’t make sense, you can be sure it makes dollars.)
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To: SeekAndFind

In reality, Iowa decided they would rather be lead by a lockdown, bumpstock banning Disney Groomer guy.
Iowa doesn’t speak for me.
He has tejected a string of conservatives live Rosendale and endorsed anyone Mitch and McCarthy picked. So we are stuck with a bunch of rinos that will endorse the democrat destruction of our country.
Mo Brooks and Matt Rosendale could’ve made a difference.
Noem, is doing very little to stop the destructive ion as well.
I love trump on the don’t go to war. It he is either the democrat lap dog he was during covid, or the principles of conservatism no longer mean God, Family, country.
Embracing the destruction of this trifecta has destroyed this country. Continuing to further destroy it has brought it where it is.. a socialist nation of taxpayers enslaved and sure as heck not represented.
He has allowed the J6 gulag to continue without using his bully puppet to free them.
Why doesn’t a leader do that? They should’ve been out already.
He seems to go right along endorsing McCarthy over better candidates ecause he deems them unwinnable.
He is not a king. He is picking lifetime rinos for the senate
This is how we got here.
Deny this? Great, show me the voting records of the rinos that he picked instead of Rosendale and brooks…. He had gone after chip Roy… show me the record the guy he supports instead of Roy.


19 posted on 02/20/2024 3:02:24 AM PST by momincombatboots (BQEphesians 6... who you are really at war with. )
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To: NWFree

When they say democracy substitute deep state or uniparty

As always when they say Trump is doing xyz…, that is what they are doing

Their version of “democracy” is no different than Stalin, putin, or xi


20 posted on 02/20/2024 3:16:13 AM PST by blitz128
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