Donald Trump President of the USA
Donald Trump is probably the most populist President ever elected in the US so far. The main controversy of his campaign is his excessive populism and pragmatism of the experienced businessman that can be traced in every step he has made in the course of his Presidential campaign. On the one hand, he promised American people to “make America great again”, while, on the other hand, he suggested ideas that contradicted to fundamental principles of American democracy that actually made America really great, like the discriminatory sayings in regard to Muslims and women. This is why his campaign became the sheer populism based on the exploitation of ideas attractive and comprehensive for uneducated and low-qualified Americans that resulted in his immense support from the part of blue-collar Americans and Americans without higher education.
Populism can be traced in almost every significant saying of Donald Trump. His claims concerning Muslims, women and immigrants gained huge support among many voters, especially blue collar and uneducated ones. They met their traditional expectations and beliefs and gave them hope that Trump may change their life for better, if elected as the President.
However, Trump’s populism is not a sheer promotion but it is also and mainly the reasonable, carefully planned steps made by an experienced businessman than claims of a simply guy living next door. In such a context, Donald Trump has revealed his hypocrisy as he made populist claims, while his only goal was to win the campaign at all costs because many of his claims are simply impossible to realize and make the new American dream promoted by Trump to come true.
Moreover, his sheer populism was probably the only possible option for him to win the Presidential election because he had no government experience. This is why he could not rely on the support of the political establishment even within his own party. No wonder he confronted the severe criticism not only from the part of the Democratic Party but also from the part of many Republicans, including leaders of the Republican Party. In such a situation, Donald Trump had no other options but to rely heavily on the popular support which was the only way for him to become the official nominee of the Republican Party and ultimately to win the Presidential election that he has done successfully. The popular support contributed to his rise in the Republican Party and his win in the Presidential campaign. Donald Trump could hardly gain the popular support fast unless his populism because he was not really close to people because of his background. Hence, he suggested popular ideas, many of which contradicted to fundamental democratic principles of the US society, but which were attractive for the average Americans, like the protection of the US from international terrorist threat by banning access to the US for Muslims or like sending all illegal immigrants out of the US. Such ideas brought him popularity and extensive support among the lower-middle and lower-class as well as attract many middle-class voters sympathetic to the traditional America which used to be predominantly white and male.
