So why is Trump so popular?

A large chunk of the Fight Club audience assumed that Durden was the hero. That’s why Fincher had to explain that he didn’t intend for Durden to be the hero. Voter affection for Trump mimics this dynamic. He is popular because he seems to live in the now, free of constraints and limits. Trump gave the GOP base a great time in the primaries by ridiculing, by bullying, by bloodying his opponents. He gives us a good time, often at his own expense, even when he doesn’t realize it.

Living in the now, as Tyler Durden found, was a great way to avenge the bastards who set the rules that held him down. He’s a great character in a great movie. But he’s not a hero, and the world he inhabits is not the one we actually live in.