Understanding the Trump Coalition [View all]

[mia]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5952a3f1e4b0326c0a8d0bc9

Historians and political scientists will study Donald Trump’s 2016 Electoral College victory for years to come and I encourage you to read the works of established professionals. In the meantime, here’s armchair analysis from a Midwestern-bred stand-up comedian that enjoys talking politics with a wide variety of people.

In my view, the primary thing liberals need to understand is, Donald Trump represents a diverse coalition rather than the triumph of a coherent political ideology. When Donald Trump takes two or three different positions on an particular issue, he is often speaking to these different audiences. Here are some basic categories of Trump supporters that I’ve observed in my travels across the country and social media:

1. People that want to be part of something...

2. Conservatives that feel trapped by the two-party system...

3. People with very specific social grievances...

5. People that wish they had a lot of money...

6. People that believe what they hear (or at least want to)...

7. Bad, scary and dangerous people...

...Many liberal pundits created simplistic labels to explain the Trump phenomenon, but the reality is much more complicated. If the Democratic Party hopes to beat a celebrity who represents so many different things to different people, they need to tailor a message that speaks to most of them. Here’s a simple one:

Donald Trump is exploiting you for his own personal gain.