David Hodges writes at the Federalist that Donald Trump‘s presidential bid arrived at an unusual time in American history.
Since the 1970s, there has been a growing sense in American life that something isn’t right. While the nation is not suffering from overwhelming oppression, there is widespread disillusionment. Institutions that anchored communities are viewed with skepticism, leaders who were once broadly admired are suspected of being hypocrites or worse, and trust in the common man is seen as a sign of naiveté.
In the political system, fewer than one in five Americans say they can trust the federal government, the majority of Americans think they are on the losing side of political issues, and confidence in Congress is in the single digits. This same malaise is reflected across many institutions, too, with confidence in business, the media, and organized religion all beneath their historic averages.
Paradoxically, on many measures, it has never been a better time to be an American. The air is cleaner, there is more equality, and the country is more prosperous than it ever has been. Moreover, despite the dismal economic recovery and fear and uncertainty abroad, the average American has more material goods than ever before, is better educated, and is essentially not at risk from the historic sources of widespread human misery like war, famine, disease, and despotism.
Yet in spite of all this, Americans are clearly in a funk. More than 75 percent of Americans do not believe their children will have a better life than they do, an unprecedented vote of no confidence in the future. …
… It is in this environment that Donald Trump has triumphed. Venal, unprincipled, and unashamed of his own corruption, Trump defied every mainstream prediction about the course of the 2016 election and easily put away what was seen as the strongest class of Republican presidential candidates in a generation. In an awesome act of defenestration, he roundly defeated a dozen candidates normally regarded as tough contenders and flouted the governing ideology they all generally followed.
Throughout the Republican race, Trump’s opponents tried coopting him, mocking him, criticizing his deviations from orthodoxy, and condemning his words and actions. Yet none of it worked. Today, his approval ratings and odds to be president are higher than they were when he first started.
