The US president-elect has vowed to round up illegal immigrants and raise tariffs, but he will probably fail to reinvigorate the economy for the masses, who will watch the rich get richer on crypto and AI. America has been here before, and if Trump doesn’t turn on the business class and lay the blame at its feet, someone else will.
CHICAGO – The outpouring of joy on social media after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson suggests that America’s populist moment is evolving into something larger and more significant than just a backlash against the political establishment. If so, it is also becoming something Americans have seen before. In the late nineteenth century, the People’s Party, also known as the Populists, targeted big business as well as establishment politicians, blaming large enterprises for both destroying Americans’ livelihoods and corrupting the government.
CHICAGO – The outpouring of joy on social media after the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson suggests that America’s populist moment is evolving into something larger and more significant than just a backlash against the political establishment. If so, it is also becoming something Americans have seen before. In the late nineteenth century, the People’s Party, also known as the Populists, targeted big business as well as establishment politicians, blaming large enterprises for both destroying Americans’ livelihoods and corrupting the government.