In chapter 7 of The Case For Trump by Victor Davis Hanson, he highlights the ways in which political candidates have focused on the United States as having declined and the need to resolve this. He specifically focuses on Trump’s campaign as his campaign slogan was “Make America Great Again.” Trump, unlike most progressives, focused on a need for an increase in consumerism in hopes that it would provide the middle class with aspects that are typically only available to the wealthy. He further found that many issues stemmed from a lack of nationalist patriotism of capitalists, rather than inequality among capitalism itself. He focused on teh American focus on looking overseas as a cheaper alternative for trade and manufacturing. A potential source of this is that he found the elite and rich no longer cared about the Americans in teh lower classes that lost job opportunity as a result of this systematic issue. Additionally, he argued that there is an issue in which immigrants, sometimes illegal, often take jobs that Americans need as they are left lost in a system in which no jobs are available. Trump further argued that America essentially lacked not morality, but a sense of American pride and spirit. Hanson further argued that Trump did not argue that America was not rich, but that rather it deserved to be richer than it was and that many Americans who were not rich were yet to be and both should and could be. He finds Trump essentially hoped to instill a new “can do” confidence amongst Americans rather than a “don’t care” timid midset. Although, Trump’s focus on the cultural decline as a result of rigged economic, social, and trade policies stemmed from issues that were not only from those outside of the United States but to those who lived within its borders.
2 replies on “ERA: The Case For Trump Chapter 7”
Trump’s campaign and goals were economically driven which was something that he had experience in. I think it was smart and effective because his expertise is in finance and economy rather than politics directly. I don’t know if his plans could last so long considering the image Trump created for himself, but surely there would be some short-term benefits for the country.
You did a very good job summarizing Trump’s economic goals for the country that were established during his campaign. His “Make America Great Again” slogan certainly set a tone for his campaign that was viewed skeptically by both Americans and other countries. I think it is definitely important to provide more opportunities to the middle class that are otherwise only available to the rich, but I also think that blaming immigrants for issues with the middle class is incorrect because oftentimes the illegal immigrants are taking jobs that the middle class would not like to take.