Two Books on the Trump Coalition

White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America, by Williams, Joan C. (HBR Press, 2017), 192 pages.

The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics, by Zito, Salena and Brad Todd (Crown Forum, 2018), 286 pages.

There have been dozens of articles and books written to explain the surprise election of Donald J. Trump in 2016. These two achieve something special: they strengthen your sense of hope in the American people and their politics. Hope that other liberal elites, like Joan C. Williams, will take an honest look at the so-called “basket of deplorables.” Hope that every voter will be as rational and informed as Salena Zito’s informants as they struggle with their voting choices.

Working Class is sociology by way of a feminist. Williams synthesizes pre-election social science on the “working class” (the 53% who are neither poor nor rich-and-college-educated) to convey a sincere understanding of the Trump Coalition to her fellow Democrats. Revolt is anthropology by way of a right-leaning reporter. Zito discerns seven “archetypes” of Trump supporters (based on an August 2017 survey by Brad Todd) and recounts 23 personal stories.

Despite their different perspectives and methods, their overall conclusions are alike: political leaders have left regular people out of their policies for the future. Zito locates the root cause in elites having “little direct experience with the lives of ordinary Americans.” Williams counsels the rich to “recognize that elite folkways are just that: folkways, not good taste” instead of looking down on middle-class folkways.

The chapters in Working Class read like an FAQ about the middle-class that will resonate with most readers. Why don’t they “just move” to the city, or “get with it and go to college”? Williams explains that the working class is willing to sacrifice a wealthy life in order to maintain their strong communities and despise the forced choice. She then denounces political parties’ entire reliance on college: “when you leave the two-thirds of Americans without college degrees out of your vision of the good life, they notice.” More FAQ: How sexist and racist are Trump voters, really? Regarding racism, Williams finds middle-class complaints about immorality comparable to upper-class complaints regarding incompetence. On sexism, she offers an epiphany: “elite men tend to talk the talk but don’t walk the walk; working-class men walk the walk but don’t talk the talk.” Finally, Williams censures the habit of “deflecting blame” onto Trump voters as politically foolish, and declares that elites are at least as prejudiced as the working class.

Revolt puts you in the booth of a diner, or on the sofa in a house, watching people talk about themselves and how they came to vote for Trump. Zito interweaves personal pedigree and regional politics with the plain self-declarations I reproduce below to present a subtle comprehension of her informants and their considerations.

Of Trump’s many supporters, the most surprising group were white Christian conservatives—exceeding their support for well-behaved, devout Mitt Romney. Zito calls these voters King Cyrus Christians, alluding to the Persian King who gave religious freedom back to the Jews (see the Old Testament book of Ezra). From this archetype:

Neil Shaffer of Howard County, Iowa

‘I’m an election precinct official… We do have some pretty conservative Republicans. Bless their hearts, but they always seem to pick the losing candidate [in the primaries], then they have sour grapes. [On election day], they just don’t vote because they are so fed up and feel disenchanted. I ran into a couple of them and they were getting Trump signs; it’s like, what happened? You would think that Trump would be about the most opposite of them, but they saw that Supreme Court and knew what that was.’

The other unexpected members of the Trump Coalition were women. Even among women, Zito and Todd found two separate archetypes. Silent Suburban Moms are less religious then his overall supporters and many voted for Obama; Girl Gun Power are under 45 and were vigorously courted by the NRA. Half of each group reported they “were uncomfortable telling friends they were voting for Trump during the campaign, because they feared disapproval.” Here is a story from each:

Patty Bloomstine of Erie County, Pennsylvania

‘[In 2010] I went from passive political observer, to a warrior… [Obamacare] was the beginning of putting the country on the wrong track; it placed the economy on the wrong track…. I have an obligation to my son, to my community… [My kids need] to be able to do better than we did, to achieve more, and to be able to move back home after college and be surrounded by family… [The day of the Access Hollywood exposé] there were plenty of people I know who stalled, who really gave it a second and third look. The people and friends that I spoke with about it, ultimately they came back and voted for him… I knew dad was going to vote for Clinton… the funny thing is now my father has changed his mind; he is happy with Trump. Can you believe that? He likes him now; a big part of that switch for my father is the way the press and establishment politicians dislike him—that and his take-charge attitude.’

Kim Dull of Vernon, Wisconsin

‘My dad taught all the boys how to hunt and everything, but I kind of got left behind on that… [After I married a hunter] I started shooting with him once in a while. And I kind of found out how fun it was to target shoot. That feeling as though I am protecting myself. No one else but me… It does make you feel better. I hope to God I never have to, but it does help that, you know, you may have no choice… I think [Trump] would do so much better if he would just quit tweeting everything or whatever. Some of the things he had to say and how he was looking forward as trying to better this country I love, but the tweeting?’

Reading Revolt’s succeeding narratives compels the soul to wrestle with Working Class’s cultural observations. By the end, these two books will help you face realities that are rich, astonishing… and hopeful.