Whatever else you might say about GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, there can be no denying that he has an unprecedented talent for tapping into the fears of those Americans who — justifiable or otherwise — feel marginalized by modern U.S. society.
Despite his billionaire status, he appeals to blue-collar, working-class voters by manipulating their emotions and discontent with establishment politicians.
Trump’s message may be one of bigotry and ethnocentrism, but it has struck a chord because it exploits these citizens’ deep-seated frustration with the current U.S. political landscape.
This frustration stems from job uncertainty, an erosion of social cohesiveness and a growing stratification of U.S. society which seems to leave them disconnected to the nation’s lawmakers.
Fanning the flames of xenophobia and rallying nationalist fervor, Trump rants and raves, and working-class America becomes infected by his spiel, regardless of how irrational his histrionics may sound.
His message — incoherent and absurd as it may be — resonates with his followers, who support him blindly, even when he implies that some of them should revert to violence to keep Hillary Clinton from winning the presidency. (God help us if any of them decide to take that cue and attempt an assassination of the Democratic nominee.)
And it is that blind, unthinking adoration that the rest of the world must understand in order to contain it.
Trump is dangerous, and Trumpism is a serious threat to global geopolitical stability.
From building a wall along the Mexican border to banning Muslims from entering the United States to demanding more money for NATO military operations from foreign governments to threatening to drop a nuclear bomb on Europe, Trump’s proposals will only lead to an isolation of Washington and further confrontation by extremist groups which will cash in on the resentments he cultivates abroad to enlist terrorist recruits.
At the root of the Trump phenomenon is pure human emotion, and trying to counter that with logic and rational debate is futile.
The only way to disengage the hysteria Trump sows is through an equally emotional appeal to human sentiments, focusing on how his presidency would only produce more marginalization and suffering for working-class Americans and providing them with assurances that their grievances are being heard by the other candidates.
This is crucial, because unless politicians and anti-Trump campaigners can tap into the same emotional base that the former reality show star so dexterously operates, there exists the very real possibility that he could win the Nov. 8 election.
Thérèse Margolis can be reached at therese.margolis@gmail.com.