A very interesting analysis, Deion. Trust, or a lack of it, does seem to be so central to our current societal malaise. I'm really tired of hearing about another politician ignoring his own COVID protocols, or a general getting away with actions that would leave an enlisted soldier court martialed, or a journalist nonchalently printing faleshoods only to offer a retraction long after everyone has moved on--I'm tired of being reminded that we cannot trust the people we are supposed to be able to trust. I wonder if part of the reason Trump was an outlier for so many is that he was very clearly a success despite the efforts of basically everyone. For his base, Trump represented a sense that one could succeed even if the party leadership, the media, the cultural elites, even the snobbish collegiate class so certain they had his number (mea culpa) was arraigned against you. Whatever faults he had, and he had plenty, he clearly chose to cast his lot in with the people least likely to offer him reward. People felt like he wouldn't turn on them later, because he didn't turn on them in 2016. I wonder if it will be possible to recapture that; after all, the so-called "deplorables" are no longer assumed to be politically powerless and an electoral dead-end. Even if a politician embraces wholeheartedly the America-first agenda, I wonder if people will still have doubts because post-Trump any old grifter can see that that is a winning strategy. I've been personally confounded by the conservatives I see who seem to want Trump to run again in 2024, but maybe this is part of why they feel that way. In any case, thank you for offering your thoughts on Trump and his presidency, they are quite illuminating and have given me plenty to think about.
That's a good way of putting it, Deion. The GOP masses trust Trump to be "on their side" in a way that they don't trust the GOP establishment as a whole. And, personally, I too trust Trump to be on the right side of almost every issue. I don't, however, trust him to competently and effectively pursue the right course.
A very interesting analysis, Deion. Trust, or a lack of it, does seem to be so central to our current societal malaise. I'm really tired of hearing about another politician ignoring his own COVID protocols, or a general getting away with actions that would leave an enlisted soldier court martialed, or a journalist nonchalently printing faleshoods only to offer a retraction long after everyone has moved on--I'm tired of being reminded that we cannot trust the people we are supposed to be able to trust. I wonder if part of the reason Trump was an outlier for so many is that he was very clearly a success despite the efforts of basically everyone. For his base, Trump represented a sense that one could succeed even if the party leadership, the media, the cultural elites, even the snobbish collegiate class so certain they had his number (mea culpa) was arraigned against you. Whatever faults he had, and he had plenty, he clearly chose to cast his lot in with the people least likely to offer him reward. People felt like he wouldn't turn on them later, because he didn't turn on them in 2016. I wonder if it will be possible to recapture that; after all, the so-called "deplorables" are no longer assumed to be politically powerless and an electoral dead-end. Even if a politician embraces wholeheartedly the America-first agenda, I wonder if people will still have doubts because post-Trump any old grifter can see that that is a winning strategy. I've been personally confounded by the conservatives I see who seem to want Trump to run again in 2024, but maybe this is part of why they feel that way. In any case, thank you for offering your thoughts on Trump and his presidency, they are quite illuminating and have given me plenty to think about.
That's a good way of putting it, Deion. The GOP masses trust Trump to be "on their side" in a way that they don't trust the GOP establishment as a whole. And, personally, I too trust Trump to be on the right side of almost every issue. I don't, however, trust him to competently and effectively pursue the right course.