America's elites deserve Donald Trump

But Trump is something else too: A primal scream from a large-but-forgotten chunk of the country that’s been immiserated by the upheavals in the American economy.

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That failure is on us. And by “us” I mean the donor class, policymakers, politicians, and political apparatuses of both the Democratic and Republican parties. But also people like me, Klein, and the rest of the class that staffs the media and think tanks, runs the upper echelons of American society, and sets the terms of the political discourse.

We all deserve Trump.

Even within the Republican camp, Trump is unique. He cares not one wit for GOP economic orthodoxy and is happy to embrace “class warfare” rhetoric. He support is disproportionately lower class and concentrated in areas where people are less educated and communities are dying — figuratively and literally — of national socioeconomic neglect. Cruz is the Tea Party candidate, and while his camp may be similar to Trump’s, the class divide between the camps and consequent differences in economic priorities are important. As for Marco Rubio, he’s angling for upper class GOP votes and to implement the worst impulses of the Republican corporate elite to strip-mine the American economy.

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