President Donald Trump waves to supporters on Saturday, March 4, 2017, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
At The American Conservative, William Smith explains some of the many reasons Trump supporters have for despising America’s political establishment. Smith writes that “America is no longer one country,” and that he fears “This will not end well.” He continues (abridged):
An uneasiness has overtaken the body politic. There is a sense that a terrible clash is about to occur. The establishment’s contempt for Donald Trump, and their machinations to remove him, are validated by the president’s intemperate counterattacks and the glee that his supporters take in his barbs. These two groups do not simply disagree; they consider each other to be illegitimate and unconstitutional outlaws.
It is true that Trump’s behavior is not befitting his office and that a certain decorum and dignity in the White House is not only desirable but essential
However, there are also many reasons for Trump supporters to despise the establishment: endless wars in which the brunt of casualties are borne by those from Trump country, grotesque public debt generated by vote buying, a two-tiered educational system that ensures income inequality, pervasive government surveillance, open and lawless borders, and on and on. Our elites bring to mind the French aristocracy under Louis XVI.
America is no longer one country.
Trump understands the worldview of his base and capitalizes on it by attacking NFL “kneelers,” the liberal “fake news” media, and those who refuse to say “Merry Christmas.”
Trump supporters do not feel estranged from national and religious symbols and traditions. Most never attended an elite university, have never read Derrida, and have no desire to deconstruct the customs they love.
This will not end well, I fear.
Read more here.
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