The way that I interpreted this article and how it fits into the current moment is that there's a substantial portion of those dissatisfied with the current political order of permanent minority rule by people who have substantially different values from themselves who could be considered part of the "elite" of society in terms of wealth and influence.
That's not to say that there's a conspiracy theory! Coastal elites are certainly not the only people protesting, not everyone that's elite is dissatisfied with the current order, etc., etc. But IMO the current situation can be characterized as one where a large group of people, including but not in any way limited to a portion of society's "elite" grouping, are attempting to overturn the political order to better suit their values.