Ever since Donald Trump's election in 2016, liberals and the left have struggled to understand the meaning of his rise, and that of "Trumpism," for American politics. When Trump entered the political scene, he was hard to take seriously. In his first campaign, he seemed-initially, at least-to be a zombie headline straight from the New York Post 's"Page Six": a faded reality-TV star, a bankrupt real estate speculator, a huckster, a creep, and a punch line.
Author Joan Williams argues that elitism has weakened the party and pushed people towards populism. As the popularity of the United States Democratic Party reaches historic lows, author Joan Williams argues that the party's elitism is still pushing people away. Williams is the founder of the Equality Action Center at the College of Law at the University of California at San Francisco and author of Outclassed: How the Left Lost the Working Class and How to Win Them Back.
Trump's victory showcased a potential realignment among voters, with gains among Black, Latino, and Asian demographics, as well as younger voters. This shift indicated a decline of the social-justice era.