Eight Years of Populism Hasn’t Gotten America Very Far
Using employment, wealth or health as a yardstick, it’s hard to find any meaningful gains for the working class, which raises questions about the next four years.
In pedigree and personality, the 45th and 46th US presidents couldn’t have been more different. In their economic policies, though, Donald Trump and Joe Biden shared a populist core. Which means their presidencies look like the advent of a distinct era in history that, with Trump’s return as the 47th president, is set to be extended for another four years.
While Trump and Biden may bristle at sharing the “populist” label, both have styled themselves champions of the common man and woman. Their agendas are grounded in the same grievance-driven economic nationalism that challenges decades of orthodoxy on the benefits of free trade and the efficiency of markets. Both blame business and political elites for taking America down the wrong path. And both have staked their presidencies on bringing factory jobs back to the US and lifting up the people and places struggling to keep pace with change.