Analysis Of How Donald Trump Brought Populism To Washington

The election is over and Donald Trump is now poised to be the 45th President of the United States. In “How Donald Trump Brought Populism to Washington” (2016), Matthew Continetti’s article seeks to analyze the strategies deployed by the Trump campaign that spoke directly to citizens feeling disenfranchised by political authority. The key to a successful presidential campaign came down to message. “Make American Great Again was clear, direct, and appealing to voters who believed the country in which they grew up, and for a time prospered, was transforming into something they did not understand, did not condone, and had no agency within” (Continetti, 2016). Having no public service experience, Trump capitalized on nostalgia of the United States

He only introduces liberal based views to describe how incorrectly the Clinton campaign and the media projected the Trump campaign’s effect on the American people. “So convinced were Democrats and liberals that changing demographics guaranteed them victory in presidential elections that they ignored or undermined or provoked the very white working-class voters that made Trump president” (Continetti, 2016). As described in the “Liberalism and Conservatism” presentation, the Clinton campaign championed the liberal views of bigger and better central government, diplomacy, changeable moral principles, toleration and diversity. Instead, Continetti contends that it was a tiring of Obama’s liberal administration and a push for more conservative based views that ignited discussions and swayed voters towards Trump. “Clearly the platform of social liberalism, globalization and appeals to race and ethnicity and sex is not as popular as we had been led to believe” (Continetti, 2016). Throughout the article, Continetti highlights many of the basic conservative principles as described in the presentation. “Trump had many of the qualities of a successful presidential candidate: charisma, a strong message, future-oriented policies, a call for peace through strength and a core base of support” (Continetti, 2016). While controversy and scandal did mare the Trump campaign’s conservative look, Continetti analyzes that it was Trump’s larger than life persona that also helped to diminish his opponent’s liberal