The 2016 election was very controversial and took many people by surprise. In Victor Hansons book The Case for Trump he analyzes the cause behind Trump’s victory and some of the reasons why having Trump as a president may not be as negative as it has been made out to be by the “elite culture” and “ancien regime” he describes. This cultural elite is supposedly the top portion of Americans who are well off financially and typically part of a privileged group. Hanson explains that this cultural elite are the ones who are mainly opposed to Trump and are responsible for much of the negative views that people have developed towards him. Trump won the 2016 presidentail race in part due to his rhetoric which was appealing to many people who are racist and xenophobic, but he also won due to his promise for radical change and his ability to appeal and resonate with the working class in America.
Hanson start off by talking about the split in America that he characterizes as “The two Americas”. When speaking about the divide in the country that he has noticed he focuses heavily on the divide between big cities and, essentially, the rest of the country. This is when he starts to describe and hint at the cultural elite and ancien regime in American society. By focusing on the divide in America he starts to suggest that perhaps the reason Trump won the election was due to the fact the the half of America that voted for Trump was feeling ignored and neglected by the other half. Thus, Trump’s rhetoric about bringing real radical change and “Draining the Swamp” resonated with many of the people that felt as if they were being ignored by the current political leaders. Hanson utilizes the divide in America to help shed light as to why Trump’s campaign was successful and shows how there was more than racism, xenophobia, and sexism involved in the election of Trump. Trump reflected what many Americans wanted but where not seeing in the politicians they were previously electing. Nonetheless, the negative rhetoric that Trump had on various groups of people, especially minorities, did help him gain support from people who are racist, xenophibic and sexist but as Hanson explains many of his voters came from a place in which they simply felt they were being ignored by mainstream politicians and having an outside man would bring them the change they wanted.
Along with Hansons argument as to why Trump won the election he also brings up something which he describes as the ancien regime or cultural elite in American society. Hanson argues that there is a regime in place that actively sought to oppose Trump and find ways to make sure his decisions are not carried through in the government. The evidence that Hanson presents for this ancien regime shows some actions that may have been taken against Trump in order to ensure that his decisions do not have an impact on the government. The presence of the Ancien regime is debatable and the manner in which Hanson presents it makes it appear as a very concrete and organized group that is actively going against Trump through covert methods. There is no doubting that actions are being taken against Trump in order to prevent him from achieving certain things, but that is simply the nature of politics in America. Perhaps Trump has experienced opposition more, than in comparison to other presidents but I believe the idea of the Ancien regime is not as serious as Hanson is making it out to be and that Trump has simply faced more opposition politically because of his status as an outsider to politics.
Clearly racism, xenophobia, and sexism played a role in Trump’s election but I think that Trump’s rhetoric for radical change and him being a political outsider also heavily influenced the 2016 election in his favor and to the idea of an Ancien regime actively opposing Trump I believe that it could better be explained as a higher level of opposition in the government to his actions and ideas due to how removed he was and is to the mainstream political world.
This essay was well written and included many points that Hanson has offered. The introductory paragraph does a good job in presenting the topics mentioned in his book. The first body paragraph includes good information, but some assumptions are made as to what type of people Trump supporters are. Avoiding assumptions or making claims as to where this knowledge was found would validate your argument. The last body paragraph talks about the cultural elite, which was also mentioned earlier on. Combining these two paragraphs could make the essay flow better. Lastly, the conclusion does not consistently sum up what was mentioned earlier on in the essay. Correcting the diction in this case would do a better job in wrapping up this piece of writing.
This essay is extremely well organized and well written. The argument is especially clear and each aspect of the prompt is effectively addressed. I think you also do a great job of incorporating the text and Hanson’s main points. I think that when you are talking about the cultural elite and Hanson’s assertion that one half of America felt ignored by the other half, it could be beneficial to bring up Hansen’s point of the democratic shift after Obama’s term. He argues that Obama excited the elite progressives and by the end of his time as President, the democratic party was basically ruled by the progressives leaving many former central democrat in a strange position. I think this idea would further improve your argument. Overall, however, I think this essay was impressive and I enjoyed reading it.
The sequence of this essay is very effective in getting your argument across in a clear and insightful way. The way in which you addressed the prompt shows a clear understanding of the argument made by Hanson in this book, and I think you supported your ideas well with evidence.
Your essay is strong and clearly shows your voice on the topic. I agree with the fact that a big part of why Trump won was due to the fact that he was the candidate that focused on the people who were not listened too. He was a candidate that didn’t have a political agenda that silenced groups of Americas. He ran on the idea of changing up the political game and making it one that was actually there to serve and better its people like it is supposed to. I think you have a strong argument and structure to this essay, but I do think you should condense some of your paragraphs to bluntly show what you are thinking and get your ideas across more clearly.
I find that your essay is well written and provides many points that are essential in arguing a response to the prompt. You did a great job of referencing the effects of the divide amongst supports and nonsupporters. I find that it would be beneficial to add more evidence, such as quotes from our readings. Specifically, I find that if you are going to argue that “Trump won the 2016 presidential race in part due to his rhetoric which was appealing to many people who are racist and xenophobic” it is necessary to provide evidence of this, especially because it is in your thesis. Although, I do find you did a good job in presenting a counter argument in which you addressed how many people did vote for Trump because he was different than the typical political candidate and presented an opportunity for radical change. Additionally, I find that the concluding paragraph, as well as the end of the second paragraph, are run-on sentences. It would be helpful to readers if the ideas presented in these paragraphs were divided into a more structural segment.
You make an interesting point that Trump’s rhetoric resonates with racist and xenophobic people. Although this may be true, make sure you back it up with sufficient evidence. It is definitely important to note that there were other factors besides racism and xenophobia that helped Trump win, which you did a solid job of explaining. You make an interesting point regarding the ancien regime. It is interesting to consider that maybe there is not some large group within the government looking to undermine Trump’s ideals, but instead there is a large group in society that oppose Trump due to his outsider ways. This is a solid essay overall, and to improve it you could make it a bit more organized and quote from the text more.
In your essay you did a good job answering all parts of the prompt directly. This is the first essay that Ive read that took the time to describe Trump supporters as ones that have these discriminatory attitudes. It is obviously unfair to say a whole group follows these attitudes, but I do agree with the fact that these people make up a significant part of people who voted for Trump during this election. Regarding all the other parts of the prompt, I think you made good points that all make sense but to develop your arguments even more you could’ve used a little more textual support in certain areas. Overall it was a very well written essay.