Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
I agree. I'd even go a step further and suggest that Trump, a bit like Brexit over here, appealed to those who felt like they were unheard, to those who wanted to give the establishments in both countries a bit of a kicking. Brexit certainly transcended party politics in the UK in a similar way to Trump reaching out to, and alienating, both sides in America.
The big shame is that, those who felt that voting Trump (and Brexit) was taking back control from the establishment, were actually doing the very opposite. Assuming the next elections in UK and America will be in 2024, it'll be interesting to see how much support the right wing parties in each country actually get. The Conservatives got a relatively strong election result last year on the back of one issue, but when that's done and dusted, the party will need to move back into the centre or it'll lose lots of its new working class vote. From what I see, this government's popularity is plummetting and not just on the back of Covid. Brexit spoke to lots of working class people, the same who largely support things like Marcus Rashford's support for school meals during holidays for those who qualify for free school meals. Once Brexit dies down, we'll get back to normal policies again and this government won't stand a chance on a right wing ticket if they attack the working classes.
The same will be true in America with former Democrats who voted for Trump, but who may not have as natural a home with the Republicans. From my limited knowledge of American politics, it has always seemed that any President who has done ok in his first term of office gets in, certainly in more recent times. In my lifetime, Trump follows Jimmy Carter and George Bush (first one) as Presidents that have only served one term and not been re-elected, unlike Reagan, Clinton, Bush Jnr and Obama. I was one of many who were astounded that George W Bush got a second term and so, for Trump to fail against someone who is hardly a strong candidate seems to suggest the direction America wants to go.
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