Understanding Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump’s supporters and detractors are both obsessed with him. They share the belief that everything that has happened is because of him. His supporters believe his staying in office is crucial to the survival of the country. His opponents believe his removal is. The certainty of these facts among each group is both astounding and misguided. Trump did not create this moment. He was created by the moment. Trump was neither the key to solving America’s problems nor the key to causing them. As I have argued on numerous occasions, there are powerful social, economic and institutional forces drawing their power from the pyramiding divisions within our society. Trump is a byproduct of those forces. It has been noted many times by those close to the first family that Trump was surprised that he won – he had been negotiating with Fox to create a new network after the election – and that his wife wept when she realized she would be first lady. I was not there to validate this, but it is well known he was negotiating his next move a few weeks before the election. Trump ran a brilliant albeit unintended campaign. He bested […]