I did not vote for Trump in the recent California primary. But I can understand the anger that fuels his candidacy.

For over a quarter century, Trump's supporters have been dismissed, ridiculed, and shut out by the ruling class in this country, from politics to academia to the media. Their jobs have been exported to third world countries, and those that couldn't be exported have been filled by compliant and disposable third world immigrants, either illegals from Mexico and Central America or semi-skilled laborers from India on H1B indentured servant visas. They've lost their homes and retirement funds while Wall Street crooks have gotten rich. They haven't seen a real increase in their wages in decades. They see American soldiers coming home in bodybags and terrorist attacks for fifteen years, and the ridiculous explanations for the "why" have ultimately come down to Islam being an evil religion that needs to be eradicated, at the same time the political class is insisting that America needs to import millions of Muslim refugees. Popular culture manufactured by the media hipsters in LA and NY openly mocks and ridicules "traditional" American culture of 'flyover country'. They're told their daughters just need to get used to sharing bathrooms with grown men. They hear they need to hand over their guns to a government that is itself armed to the teeth and views them with contempt at best. The 'Trump supporters' have finally had enough, and aren't going to take this any more. They have rejected the conventional social/media/political establishment which has clearly failed to represent them.

If the popularity of Trump is surprising to you, you haven't been paying attention. The media has gotten so good at pitting demographic A against demographic B that the rise of a Trump was inevitable. He has embodied the fears, concerns, and troubles of the reactionary foils of triumphant progressivism. Trump has become a lightning rod for the discontent of scores of political groupings, representing tens of millions of people, which have been dismissed as backwards, 'racist', rural, and fringe by the hopelessly out-of-touch cognoscenti for decades.

All of you who are shocked by Trump supporters today have dismissed these people and demanded that their voices not be heard. You had your way for decades, keeping a lid on the cauldron by shutting them out of the public sphere. Now that cauldron is boiling over, and those decades of concerns - exacerbated by the feeling that they've been silenced all these years - is coming out, and no one - not even Trump - will be able to keep the lid on it.

To quote John F. Kennedy, "Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent revolution inevitable." For many, Trump is the last grasp at "peaceful change" - a candidate who publicly sheds the standards and assumptions of the ruling class. I fear the inevitable disappointment a Trump candidacy will result in (either because he is a social liberal, crony capitalist, and political insider who has through his acting and showmanship skills alone is successfully riding a movement that is in opposition to all three, or will be defeated by hook and by crook at the polls in November) - will mark the beginning of the second half of that truism in America. And it's not going to be pretty.

Now I and the rest of the world can only put our hopes on that there are many sensible "republican" voters around that in November go out and vote against Trump. I hope and think that this actually will be the case.

@Tolstoy I agree with your description of USA that it is a very unequal society where market libertarianism rule. The social coherence is dismissed as the important issue it is. Lately only Obama tried to do anything about this problem with his Obamacare. But this the racist rednecks dismissed probably just because he is half-black.

Has it occurred to you, peter, that smug, prejudiced fools such as yourself are part of the problem? How can you "agree" with Tolstoy despite missing almost the entire point of his post?

I'm pretty sure Rome fell under its own decadence and immorality. Trump is the both the poster boy for this and the cure...
In the end dear America the world will go on with or without you at the " head "..

We will not be overrun by Islamist much like the world was not overrun by Christians during the English, Spanish, Portuguese colonial expansions. yes heavy influences but I'm afraid when push comes to shove the rest of us really don't care who's president..please remove all gun and weapon restrictions give me a beer and let me watch the chaos..

"Has it occurred to you, peter, that smug, prejudiced fools such as yourself are part of the problem?"
Yes it has occurred that a politically experienced smug like myself will not be able to convince any single Trump supporter being present at that Trump rally. I don't think anyone can convince them by the way.
But I am instead talking with the sensible people and Republican voters that I know exist in the USA. I wish them to go to the polling boots in November and put things right after the mess Trump has caused.

Maybe no-one can convince them to change their minds, but people like you are damned good at encouraging others to join them. You know that if you keep calling people ignorant rednecks for long enough eventually they will stop listening to you? You, but more importantly people like you in the States who run for office, have actually made themselves a genuinely worse choice for millions of people than Trump. It is a remarkable failure. And the hilarious thing is that most of these clueless buffoons have the arrogance to blame the people for voting the wrong way!

"But this the racist rednecks dismissed probably just because he is half-black."

Pulling the race card I see. Anyone who disagrees with anything that anyone black does must be racist. Your logic is astounding.

"will not be able to convince any single Trump supporter being present at that Trump rally"

Nor would anyone be able to convince a self-righteous, narrow-minded liberal such as you.

"You know that if you keep calling people ignorant rednecks for long enough eventually they will stop listening to you?"
After reading that tweet feed I posted, what other single word would you use to denominate that crowd at the rally?
Reading that tweet feed I believe scare most sensible people. Did it not scared you Octavious?

THAT'S NOT THE POINT

Stop denominating and start realising how effective you are at increasing the amount of Trump supporters.

"Reading that tweet feed I believe scare most sensible people. Did it not scared you Octavious?"

I think you should be far more scared after reading this. For all the tolerance liberals speak of, they won't tolerate any difference in opinion, and they won't hesitate to show it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/06/10/im-voting-for-donald-trump-so-i-went-to-see-him-speak-protesters-broke-my-nose/

Leon all political violence is undemocratic and unliberal. It has to be condemned whenever it happens.

But in the end words and ideas are much more powerful. And also much more dangerous if misused in a populist manner just to win next election. This is the reason I am taking every single word Trump say very seriously. You should too. He is clearly creating a xenophobic and isolationistic America that is turning it's back to Hispanics, Muslims immigrants of every kind and to all other countries of the world. Even turning his back to the most US friendly countries like Sweden and USA's NATO allies. This man is dangerous. Please make sure he doosn't get elected in November.

Funny to see how you are denominating/labeling me personally all the time, while I am not putting any labels on any other person talking part in this discussion.
Should I read this as that you are running out of arguments? :P

"But in the end words and ideas are much more powerful."

Very true. The liberal indoctrination system is very powerful and very dangerous.

"And also much more dangerous if misused in a populist manner just to win next election."

I still don't get what's so horrible about populism. It's simply doing what the people want, and that's what democracy is all about. Roosevelt was a populist. Kennedy was a populist. Every president SHOULD be a populist.

"This is the reason I am taking every single word Trump say very seriously."

So am I, and I like them very much.

"He is clearly creating a xenophobic and isolationistic America that is turning it's back to Hispanics, Muslims immigrants of every kind and to all other countries of the world."

Becoming an American citizen is a privilege, not a right. It is a president's DUTY to keep America's borders safe.

"Even turning his back to the most US friendly countries like Sweden and USA's NATO allies"

There is not credible threat to NATO countries at the moment, so I don't see why we should be funding their military.

"This man is dangerous."

Dangerous to liberal propaganda.

"Please make sure he doosn't get elected in November."

I'll do my best to make sure he is.

"Pulling the race card I see."

Yes Leon I am. And the reason is also obvious. The Trump campaign encourages xenophobia, so we need to discuss racism when we talk about Trump. Otherwise we would overlook something very essential in this discussion that many of his own supporters have triggered on and are applauding.

"The Trump campaign encourages xenophobia"

When time and time again, mass shootings are perpetrated by Islamic extremists, I think there's reason not to want them in the country.

"so we need to discuss racism when we talk about Trump"

You were talking about Obamacare, not Trump.

"Stop denominating and start realising how effective you are at increasing the amount of Trump supporters."

Steephie an Octavious. This coming presidential election campaign will surely be the ugliest in America's history. Are you two planning to fight this in a gentleman's way with the gloves on, while the opposite side break every democratic rule there is?
Trump is a rampant liar saying one thing one day and the opposite thing next day.

"while the opposite side break every democratic rule there is?"

What democratic rule has Trump broken that his opponents has not?

*have

"Are you two planning to fight this in a gentleman's way with the gloves on"

Can't speak for Octavious, but I am, yes. If you start lowering yourself to their level, they might as well elect Trump because the opposition is just as low.

Leon showed what I mean. Trump shouldn't be president because he incites violence? Well, look at those liberals roughing up Trump supporters!
Do you still have the moral high ground?

If you're talking about ugly presidential elections you can't beat the 19th centuries ones. Back then, straight up insulting your opponent's manhood was a frequent tactic.

"Are you two planning to fight this in a gentleman's way with the gloves on"

I'm not planning on fighting at all. The Yanks are perfectly capable of running their own affairs and take an admirably dim view of foreigners interfering. I have a preference for Clinton winning, but it's hard to get excited by her. If they do elect Trump it won't be the end of the world. Indeed, he's already made more diplomatic progress with certain pariah states than Obama has in two terms of being President.

Talking of fighting - genuine story... I had a dream on Saturday night that the US presidential election was to be decided, not by a vote, but by a boxing match between The Donald and the Democratic hopeful who was, for some reason, the actor Jim Carrey.

"You were talking about Obamacare, not Trump"

Tolstoy described above the way the Trump supporter are reasoning and that most of them are working class Americans, feeling that the rich and the educated are oppressing them.

I am saying that Obamacare is the best thing that has happen benifiting the American working class in a very long time. Trump (being a super rich guy) has surprisingly somehow been able to convince his working class supporters that Obamacare is not for them. How was this possible? Has maybe Obama being black anything to do with this?

Btw with Obamacare USA got a bit of a normal social system like the rest of civilised rich countries have. I find it now much more civilised when it takes care of the financially weaker citizens.

Now Trump says that America should use racial profiling to target crime.

What a piece of shit.

@peterlund: To be fair, as far as I know, Americans are forced to pay way too much for what they're getting out of it. It's not a neat system like in various European countries.

I can imagine that Trump and Putin holding the red phones in one hand in their presidential palaces talking to each other while holding their other hands on the red button to send nukes to each other...

Then the music starts:

War... war never changes...

:D

"Has it occurred to you, peter, that smug, prejudiced fools such as yourself are part of the problem?"

Octavious, Emmett Rensin from Vox agrees with you!
http://www.vox.com/2016/4/21/11451378/smug-american-liberalism

Here's the opening paragraph: "There is a smug style in American liberalism. It has been growing these past decades. It is a way of conducting politics, predicated on the belief that American life is not divided by moral difference or policy divergence — not really — but by the failure of half the country to know what's good for them."

First, the US economy is a USG economy. There is little free market left in it. The entire medical industry is State controlled now. The financial industry is governed by the quasi government agency, the Federal Reserve. The manufacturing and extraction industries are so heavily regulated and it is impossible for start-ups to enter. About the only area of our economy which is free market is the Internet. However, the FTC is moving to put it under their control. So, no, our economy is far from libertarian.

As for Trump, who are people supposed to vote for Hilary? She is going to cause WWIII. She is the neo-conservative darling. Trump at least campaigned on the issue that Bush lied us into Iraq, and the Iraq war was a colossal failure. I don't like Trump either. He wants to expand the Patriot Act worldwide. Neither is worth a flip.