Blaming everybody

Published August 29, 2015

by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, August 28, 2015.

When asked recently about what they thought about Donald Trump, focus group participants saw him as a leader who “kicks ass and takes names.” They like that he has been successful and that he’s not owned by any special interests. They don’t care that he’s changed positions on a host of issues over the years. He says exactly what they want to hear.

And that’s who Donald Trump is. They’ve mistaken a weathervane for a leader. The only thing he’s been consistent about is his desire for attention and his willingness to say anything to get it. He’s an entertainer, not a politician. He’s got a keen ear for what certain groups of Americans want to hear and he gives it to them. He has no need for money so he’s now just in it for the accolades of adoring fans.

When the birther movement captured the imagination of a segment of the Republican base, Trump became chief birther, or at least the most recognizable one with the biggest megaphone. He probably didn’t believe the birth certificate story but he did believe he could grab the support of those people.

But leader of the birthers wasn’t big enough. He decided to go after a much broader segment of society. He tapped into the cynicism and anger of the working class Americans who have been left out of the recovery and who have lost faith in the system. 

He’s tapped into pure emotion on issue after issue and emotions drive people’s votes more than intellect. On immigration, he’s pandering to people who see immigrants from Mexico and Central America as threats to their jobs and undeserving recipients of their tax dollars. There’s no way to round up and deport 12 million people without spending billions of dollars and violating millions of people’s civil rights, but that’s not the point. He beats up politicians for being beholden to special interests because of the money chase that defines modern campaigns and pledges that he won’t take any PAC money but that’s because he’s a billionaire. He defends Social Security and Medicare because he knows the people he’s pandering to need it. On foreign policy, he has no details but he wants America to be full of bluster and cower the world into submission. You know, make America a world leader again. 

Trump doesn’t necessarily believe any of the things he’s saying, but he knows he’s saying what a lot of Americans want to hear. And that’s why all of the other politicians should take notice. Republicans are following Trump’s lead on issues like immigration, but it’s not issues that are motivating these people. It’s emotion. They are angry and believe the traditional systems have let them down. The feel left out of the economic system. They feel lied to by the political system. And they they find popular culture alien and offensive. 

Really, Americans are looking for a savior and a reformer. The politicians who aren’t Trump should pay attention. They might not need his bravado but they do need to understand the concerns. Bernie Sanders is tapping into people who see corporate America as the cause of middle class economic woes. Trump is tapping into the people who blame everybody for it and he’s reaching a bigger, less ideological audience.