Not a Populist...Not a Populist

In "The biggest surprise of Trump's first year is his hard-right economic policy" Vox's Matthew Yglesias shows that he just does not get it.

Yglesias argument goes something like this.

1. Trump constantly lies as president just as he lied throughout his campaign.
2. Much of his othere awful behavior, like the lying, has continued while he is president.
3. But he was a populist who promised to implement populist policies as president.
4. Despite the promises, Trump has been governing as a hard right conservative, not a true populist.

Yglesias calls this behavior surprising.

Where to begin?

First of all, if, during a political campaign, a candidate lies all the time and makes policy promises - maybe, just maybe, those policy promises are lies, too.

Any thoughtful analysis of Trump must recognize his deeply narcissistic personality disorder. The truth means nothing to him. Everything he says is geared totally toward maximization of self advantage. There is literally no such thing as the truth as the rest of us understand it. For a narcissist who is a constant liar, campaign promises, after the election, become mere statements made in the past. There is no day of reckoning because when reckoning would come for a mere mortal, the challenge from the fact checkers only requires a new lie, a new denial or accusation, a deflection, or all of the above. Every statement is made in the moment as a way to get to the next day. There is no looking back to the past. There is no looking forward to the future.

So, during the campaign, when the demand comes for release of tax returns, the narcissist just says - "I am under audit and can not release the returns." When pressed, hejust says - "I have answered that question. I don't talk about that anymore. " The statements make no sense, but they achieve the purpose of deflection.

Yglesias continues: "But what’s flown under the radar is that there is plenty surprising about Trump’s conduct in office. In particular, on economic issues he’s governed a lot more like a hard-right conservative than a freewheeling populist."

But that was never a surprise. It was to be expected. In important ways, Trump was a perfect fit for the Republican controlled Congress. Trump cares only about personal financial gain and dominance of others. Campaign promises were made as a matter of convenience, telling supporters what they wanted to hear in the moment, with no concern for the future. That left the Republicans in Congress free to craft any legislation they wanted which Trump would sign into law. Every new law can be declared a success by Trump, no matter the impact. For him, that was winning.

And it remains to be seen whether Trump's adherence to Republican policy prescriptives translates into continued low approval, or if,  as Yglesias' puts it -  "The combination of graft and plutocracy" is "a huge political loser". Yglesias' makes a strong case that the Trump administration policies are anti-populist", but this was never a surprise. And Yglesias provides no compelling argument that the anti-populist policies will matter to Trump's base of support.