Demagogue for President by Jennifer Mercieca

Author:Jennifer Mercieca
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 2020-07-06T21:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“It is so nice that the shackles have been taken off me and I can now fight for America the way I want to.”

Ad Populum

On Twitter, October 11, 2016

Favorable: 36.6 percent; Unfavorable: 58 percent1

“The only antidote to decades of ruinous rule by a small handful of elites is a bold infusion of popular will,” Trump wrote in an April 14, 2016, Wall Street Journal op-ed. “On every major issue affecting this country, the people are right and the governing elite are wrong. The elites are wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy. Why should we trust the people who have made every wrong decision to substitute their will for America’s will in this presidential election?”2 Trump’s op-ed was full of extreme words—“the only antidote,” “ruinous rule,” “every major issue”—designed to appeal to a nation frustrated with the “governing elite.” Trump’s campaign used ad populum appeals (appealing to the wisdom of the crowd) to expertly take advantage of preexisting distrust and polarization, turning the nation’s frustration into action that would support his campaign against Trump’s enemies. Trump used ad populum (appealing to the wisdom of the crowd) in three ways: first, he praised his followers as wise and patriotic; second, he praised himself for being so popular with his wise and patriotic followers; and, third, Trump activated his followers to think of themselves as fellow heroes in a movement to defend their shared wise and patriotic values against the corrupt elite. Trump’s ad populum appeals helped provide him with a “Teflon” defense shield by providing a frame by which all actions of the “establishment” could be judged: the establishment was always wrong and Trump’s people were always right. Championing the wisdom of the “popular will” against the “governing elite” provided Trump with a lot of leverage when times got tough, like they did in the aftermath of the release of the Access Hollywood tape.

“After spending the better part of the 2016 calendar year trying to make the best of their Donald Trump Situation, Republicans began to cut bait in a big way on Saturday,” Aaron Blake wrote on October 9, 2016, in the Washington Post. “By day’s end, more than 30 high-profile Republicans had not only ditched Trump but also said that he had disqualified himself and should step aside for another nominee, thanks to his lewd comments about women on a hot mic in 2005.”3 Trump defiantly refused to withdraw from the race and accused the Republican Party leadership of attempting to sabotage his campaign. “The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly—I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE,” Trump tweeted on October 8, 2016, the day after the Access Hollywood tape came out. He wouldn’t drop out of the race because so doing would abandon his people. “WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGA,” Trump tweeted.4 Just as Trump had relied previously on his hero narrative and ad hominem attacks to defend himself against the

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