What I said I meant in a broader sense.
Trump is a phenomenon. It’s mind boggling how he appeals to some people - while others, including many Republicans, just cringe when they see him. Everyday people elected him - but in order to do his job as president, he had to recruit people among the elites. And elites, like any mob, require a certain amount of unanimity. And since the majority among them hated Trump, the “wise” career promoting attitude was to join them.
He never developed any “critical mass” among any elites. Overall, all of them fought back.
BUT - Trump is old. Either way a few short years from now he will no longer be on stage. Again, he’s a unique phenomenon - an easy, almost organic acceptance on the part of millions - and also, an “organic” dislike on the part of millions of others.
We need to be prepared to return to a political world where the leaders will be people unable to evoke such powerful emotional responses. And this is where persuasion and developing compromises will become again important. It will have to be built on traditional American religious, ethical - and Constitutional - values.
This doesn’t mean we should not pursue the MAGA ideas. We need term limits, a prohibition against lobbying after serving in Congress, making it all more about serving the people.
If we can do that the Left will be in trouble. |
