How did Trump win the White House? In 1938, on the eve of a massive Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden, US President Franklin D Roosevelt gave a radio address that summed it up perfectly:
“Democracy has disappeared in several great nations, not because the people of those nations disliked democracy, but because they had grown tired of unemployment and insecurity, of seeing their children hungry while they sat helpless in the face of government confusion + weakness through lack of leadership…Finally, in desperation, they chose to sacrifice liberty in the hope of something to eat.”
To understand Trumps rise back to power, we have to look at the middle class. Broadly speaking, the middle class is the most insecure class because they are constantly pulled in two directions. They are working class people, and actually have much more in common with their working brothers and sisters than the ruling elite they look up to, but they are also given selective benefits by the ruling class (usually in the form of tax breaks). They feel the effects of the extractive policies of the ruling class, but in a slightly lesser degree than others. It’s a clever trick that incentivizes them to uphold the status quo and instills fear of the radical changes that the rest of the working class calls for.
