Trump’s popularity is a bit of an enigma for sure, but I think it makes sense looking at how we got to this point. Personally, I voted for him because I think some of his policies were good and our political system really, like really, needs a shake up as the younger gens are overall being neglected amongst the Xers 30 year strong Clinton party, and Boomers even more embarrassing 40 year Reagan circle jerk. Something clearly needed to change.
I think Trump’s personality really resonates with Boomers as he has the big HollyWood appeal of previous Republican mascot Reagan. His personality is bold and unafraid to say controversial things and joke. In a world that is getting progressively more censor heavy due to Left-wing radicals being offended, Trump acted like the antithesis. He felt like a man’s man, able to make jokes and get to the level of the working class.
Hilariously, Gen X seems to despise him, but most of why he works comes from them. His childish personality, name calling, fake news, and other characteristics were all things Gen X looked for during the Bush era. Trump took on a lot of the mocking characteristics of men like John Stewart, Colbert, and SNL. His wide spread fake news idea was heavily taken off the backs of Xers and their overall dismissal of any “Republican News Source” such as Fox, and promotion to men like Stewart. If anything, Trump is sort of the Boomers comeback to putting up with X and their media machine for so long.
Overall, I think Trump worship is a matter of timing. Trump came at the perfect time. Millenials were starting to go wild, causing fear in Boomers. Gen X spent a literal decade destroying and degrading the Republicans to the point of being nothing more than punching bags come Obama, so a spark of life as big as Trump really aided him. Trump also seemed to acknowledge much of the young’s, and average Joe’s concerns as Boomers took away most factory jobs using Clinton’s NAFTA program to ship them to China, and X basically made college a necessity. Only Bernie on the Democrats side seemed to understand these issues, hence why his base is as wild as Donald’s even without winning. Trump was just a big change nominee at a time where we needed one. His personality really helped him put down most of Xers media BS, the Dems denying big change candidate Bernie made Trump the only option, and the wildness of the left overall made him seem reasonable.
Short answer: He is a mix of Clinton and Reagan, all their faults, but also all their strengths. Many people put up with their BS as they revolutionized politics, and many took to Trump hoping the same.
www.nytimes.com
