https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/opioid-...
Reading this it can't possibly be the same guy, right?
People (Trumpists in particular) seem to have forgotten that Donald Trump used to be a Democrat who praised Hillary Clinton[0].
The better question would be, considering the wreckage of the past 3 1.2 years, why would anyone vote against their own best interests and vote Democrat?
Trump is the kind of guy who will claim credit for getting America out of Afghanistan and then blame Biden for withdrawing America from Afghanistan again. He is just a petulant five year old, and we really can’t risk the country under his leadership again.
It isn’t a mystery why inflation kicked up after the pandemic, and none of Trump’s solution (low interest rates, high tariffs) would have made the problem any less, and actually would have made it much worse if you just do the math.
For a more substantive analysis, I don't think there is one definitive source. I'm not sure which sources to start with, really. So it's more about a general research and watching, reading many different sources.
The explanation has something to do with the understanding that Americans do not feel represented by the American political establishment, understanding that the American political establishment and the military industrial complex are prioritizing the expansion of a kind of empire and/or influence around the world, at the expense of the citizens who pay taxes. Americans pay hundreds of billions to influence the world, but large cities are falling apart with crime, homelessness, etc.
Trump comes into the picture because he is challenging this status quo... he is not doing so in a traditional political way... because that "game" is already rigged. If you don't hack into the political game, no candidate outside of "the machine" will ever win. Trump achieved hacking this machine by being a kind of political "character" and out-playing the establishment's tactics, however the cost of doing this is that many people who don't understand this will see it as disrespectful and harmful to politics. Then his policies reflect a moderate stance that at the very least slows down the aggressive expansion of the "empire", while attempting to fix a few things at home.
That's a lot, but it doesn't even scratch the surface. I suspect this is part of the reason there are information bubbles. There is so much information that cannot really be disseminated efficiently. It's hard to talk about this and so it's hard to come to a wider consensus.
So it’s unfortunate but it’s doesn’t seem to be the moderate take he sets it out to be, which I think really gets at something about this election, which is like it’s not about the issues, it’s really about vibes, and for some people a very real desperation
But more than that I think it’s interesting that in 2016 there was this real come to Jesus moment for liberals in acknowledging that Trump really spoke to portion of the country that liberals really wanted to take credit in speaking for.
But now? I think Trump has become the establishment he disrupted so many years ago. And it’s crazy how he went from the independent guy to someone really who seems controlled by billionaires. And the sad thing is, be it age or whatever he doesn’t seem to have the messaging and enthusiasm he did back then.
Which is in a way a disservice to the people who are counting on him.
But I think people are clinging to Trump in a sense just the only icon pf conservatism you can right now. Even if in so many ways he’s not really conservative. And of course his MAGA supporters in many ways actually hate Republicans more than liberals do. This is the fundamental problem with the two party system. What are you supposed to do if you have deeply held conservative beliefs? Give them up and vote democrat? I almost feel sorry for the people voting Trump now as he seems to have given up the fight.
I’ve also been watching a bunch of Reagan debates and speeches recently and it’s sad what a turn conservative leadership has made in 40 years.
They claim Trump is a threat to democracy, and I think the reality is that at the federal level we have not had democracy for many decades if not an entire century. There is only the illusion of choice, when the two parties who march in lockstep and each choose a candidate, so no matter who wins the agenda of the empire will move forward.
I think once someone starts looking out for this American empire establishment, and seeing how the machine is built, so to speak, then it becomes apparent. If American citizens cannot have a say in the direction of this empire, then I'm afraid that it's going to spiral out of control with catastrophic consequences at a global scale. It's continuing what Israel is doing, continuing wars with Russia, and potentially China, meanwhile manipulating Americans to not pay attention, and lie to the entire country like they did with Iraq. If we can't stop this because people are scared of "racism" and they want more "diversity", the 21st century is going to be really, really dark period in human history.
That's what got me to start reading it recently
Looks like they've added an analysis of his rise to presidency in an updated version
How Autocrats Seek Power; Resistance to Trump and Trumpism, Richard L. Abel
Trump and Hitler: A Comparative Study in Lying, Henk De Berg
People vs. Donald Trump: An Inside Account, Mark Pomerantz
Tired of Winning : Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party, Jonathan Karl
American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times, André Gagné
Why Didn’t Evangelicals “See Him Coming”?: Donald J. Trump’s Deception and Dismantling of American Democracy, Paul A. Pomerville
The Origins and Development of the Destructive Politics of Trump and Trumpism: The Destructive Politics of American Fascism, Andrew Kolin
Tyranny from Plato to Trump: Fools, Sycophants, and Citizens, Andrew Fiala
Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America, Maggie Haberman
Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the US Department of Justice Against His Critics, Michael Cohen
Trump and Mussolini: Images, Fake News, and Mass Media as Weapons in the Hands of Two Populists, Anna Camaiti Hostert, Enzo Antonio Cicchino
Strangers in Their Own Land
By Hochschild
I think fundamentally what your seeing is what happens when people feel like they have no representation.