The Atlantic’s Conor Friedersdorf didn’t understand why Donald Trump’s supporters expect the billionaire to treat them better as president than conventional politicians would. So he wrote an article that meticulously explained why he feels otherwise, and invited Trump’s proponents to write in and spell out exactly why they trust Trump will do the right thing in Washington. Friedersdorf promised to publish those notes that helped him understand Trump’s supporters’ motivations, which he did in a subsequent article.
The notes published by Friedersdorf are fascinating. There are many explanations for Trump’s meteoric rise, many of them explicitly stated by his supporters and many others implicit, deduced only by carefully reading between the lines. Trump has struck a chord among those (justifiably) distrustful of our government. He appeals to those frustrated by political correctness run amok. Many feel a successful businessman and shrewd negotiator will fare better as president than the career politicians that oppose him. Others are entertained by Trump’s flamboyant candidacy, and look forward to being amused by him as president.
Both of Friedesdorf’s articles are well worth reading, and the notes sent in by Trump’s supporters provide valuable context to his popularity. But perhaps the most insightful explanation for Trump’s ascendance was written over twenty years ago by Aaron Sorkin, as a piece of dialog for 1995’s superb The American President. Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy Lewis Rothschild (played by Michael J. Fox), speaking to President Andrew Shepherd (played by Michael Douglas):
People want leadership. And in the absence of genuine leadership, they will listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership, Mr. President. They’re so thirsty for it, they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand.
No doubt, there is an absence of genuine leadership. And Donald Trump is the sand.
