Along with everyone else, it seems, I’ve been trying to come up with an explanation for the Trump phenomenon. Phenomenon because it’s impossible to imagine that anyone would vote for the man himself. And of course not everyone is mystified; not, for instance, the millions who apparently crave him above all other fellow humans for their personal savior and leader of the free world.
Trump seems such a jerk, such a bully and braggart, with ultimate bad hair, it’s hard to imagine he would be able to find anyone willing to be friends with him, let alone vote for him for President.
Robert Reich (in his August 9th column) thinks he has the answer. Repulsive though Trump undoubtedly is, he is a “one man wrecking ball,” which is appealing to those U.S. citizens whose lives are so unsatisfactory they want to see things smashed apart. So that very quality of reckless, chips-fall-where-they-may swagger of Trump that makes him seem the opposite of “presidential” is what’s appealing. Those millions don’t want a president—they’ve had that, they have that—what they want is a wrecking ball.
In other words, what they want is a revolution—against the ruling class and a system in which the wealthy have more and more power. But a revolution is difficult and dangerous. You could get hurt in it. A generation has to be desperate—pissed off–enough about the way things are to risk lives. For Trump fans apparently things are bad but not bad enough. So an image of revolution, of smash, is satisfying.
And, ironically, to be a wrecking ball he has to be a member of the ruling class himself. A billionaire wrecking ball. Takes one to wreck one.
And perhaps the only interesting thing about this jerk is that he is willing to lend himself to this fantasy.
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