If you tuned successful astatine conscionable the close clip connected June 16, 2015, erstwhile Donald Trump announced his run for the presidency, you mightiness person thought helium was speechmaking 1 of Bernie’s stump speeches. From a makeshift stage, aft descending into the lobby of Trump Tower connected the infamous aureate escalator wrong his Manhattan mall, home, and office, helium called American healthcare prices a “disaster,”pledged to support Social Security, and vowed to go “the top jobs president ever.” He promised to summation infrastructure spending that would effect successful blue-collar jobs returning to the country. What could lone animate an oculus roll, particularly successful retrospect, was the mode helium lambasted the relation of wealth successful influencing politics: “I’ve watched the politicians. I’ve dealt with them each my life,” helium said. “They’re controlled afloat by the lobbyists, by the donors, and by the peculiar interests, fully.”
If you place the vile attacks connected immigrants and progressives and Obamacare, the parallels to the Sanders talking points go obvious. But erstwhile Trump articulated them, helium wasn’t uttering heartfelt convictions developed implicit decades of progressive advocacy. Without immoderate impassioned ideology—except astir his ain presumed greatness—what Trump offered to restless voters was his alleged concern acumen. Here was a feline who schooled amateurs connected The Apprentice, whose sanction was affixed to The Art of the Deal, who presented himself, arsenic Fran Lebowitz memorably observed, arsenic “a mediocre person’s thought of a affluent person.” As we person each seen, Trump’s top endowment turned retired to beryllium stunning levels of unvarnished opportunism and an insatiable thirst for power.
Bernie was nary poll-watcher oregon chameleon candidate; the bosom of his run was the progressive beliefs helium fostered and fought for implicit a 4th period of authorities acquisition and a beingness of being a antiauthoritarian socialist.
In looking back, however, it’s however helium strategically deployed these characteristics to look to beryllium the “outsider” candidate, the 1 who could lure autarkic voters fed up with some parties, that yet helped him bushed Hillary Clinton—even if helium wasn’t supported by the fashionable vote. Trump’s squad saw however Bernie’s populist rhetoric, renegade status, and grassroots entreaty to galore disaffected voters was resonating, and since the Democratic Party intelligibly wasn’t funny successful harnessing that momentum, they cleverly realized they could harness it themselves successful their march to the White House. Trump knew helium was playing to Bernie’s voters successful each 3 of his statesmanlike campaigns. As helium told a tv interviewer successful 2024, “Last time,” referring some to 2016 and 2020, “we had a batch of Bernie supporters.”
Obviously, they weren’t all of Bernie supporters. Our progressive supporters and the immense fig of young radical who showed up to alteration the creation of the electorate successful Bernie’s favour successful the primaries were not funny successful Trump. But galore of the independent-minded, working-class voters that Bernie attracted to his run with his halfway economical connection were the aforesaid radical we utilized to telephone Reagan Democrats successful the aged days.
With a tremendous consciousness of mistrust, disappointment, and alienation, they had drifted distant from the Democratic Party. Many of these voters chose to enactment successful Democratic primaries successful 2016, and galore of them voted for Bernie. But successful the wide election, they moved to the Republican nominee due to the fact that they were looking for change. The populist connection and entreaty that Trump was offering successful the aftermath of Bernie Sanders’s decision successful the superior gave the New York existent property developer the keys to the White House.
Bernie was nary poll-watcher oregon chameleon candidate; the bosom of his run was the progressive beliefs helium fostered and fought for implicit a 4th period of authorities acquisition and a beingness of being a antiauthoritarian socialist. In astir each way, Trump was his polar opposite: nary governmental experience, nary past of activism, and ripping disconnected contractors was astir the grade of his narration to the moving class. The happening helium had that Bernie emphatically didn’t was a seemingly unlimited upland of wealth helium had “earned” done inheritance, exploitation, and greed. Could determination beryllium a much cynical purveyor of the clarion telephone to marque America large again?
When Trump emerged connected the scene, cloaking his deficiency of developed argumentation successful rhetoric that pitted the bully American radical against corrupt elites and migrants, the media rapidly assigned him and Bernie the aforesaid label. “Populism and elector discontent defined this summertime successful politics,” NPR declared that August. By the extremity of March 2016, The New York Times Magazine posed the question: “How tin Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders some beryllium ‘populist’?”
Good question. How could two men who are antithetic successful each way—aside from their sex and their age—be conflated with the aforesaid governmental archetype? It seemed similar a lazy label, but that’s successful portion due to the fact that determining what this question is turns retired to beryllium not truthful simple. Indeed, defining it continues to spark lively debates. There’s ample disagreement connected whether populism is robust capable to beryllium its ain ideology. Or possibly it’s a schematic mode of organizing the satellite by class, without the trappings of Marxist ideology. Maybe it’s conscionable a vague rhetorical instrumentality politicians wield to beforehand their ain beliefs and goals.
What is firmly settled is that astatine the bosom of populism is simply a divided betwixt “us” and “them,” whether it’s an economical divided betwixt regular radical and fiscal elites, oregon a taste divided that goes aft immigrants, radical minorities, oregon pointy-headed intellectuals who inhabit universities and ample swaths of the Democratic Party. Bernie would constituent to the oligarchs; Trump to immigrants, liberals, Democrats, Obama, Hillary, environmentalists, and overseas interests sapping jobs and wealth distant from Americans.
But wrong these 2 modes, populism successful the US contains a wide scope of much accessible ideologies, including respective time-honored isms—such arsenic socialism, communism, and authoritarianism. Ever since the 1830s, erstwhile Andrew Jackson established himself arsenic the archetypal authentic American populist, governmental candidates don’t typically notation to themselves arsenic being “populists,” adjacent arsenic they deploy populism’s rhetoric.
There are a fewer boldface names successful American past that would acceptable the bill. One of the astir notable was Huey Long, the Louisiana politician from 1928 to 1932, who ran connected the slogan “Every Man a King” and whose run urged the monolithic redistribution of wealth—he adjacent had a “Share Our Wealth” program. Huey Long embodied galore qualities associated with populist governmental figures: existent charisma, the determination to champion the “little man” against the affluent and powerful—whose wealthiness helium projected confiscating and redistributing—the cavalier labeling of anyone who disagreed with him arsenic portion of the problem, and bonzer governmental occurrence mostly predicated connected sowing part and trafficking successful an “I unsocial tin prevention you” message. He embarked connected a tally for president against Franklin Delano Roosevelt successful 1936, but an assassin’s slug stopped his race.
Roosevelt, too, deployed immoderate populist rhetoric erstwhile helium attacked “economic royalists” and “privileged princes of caller economical dynasties.” Marching done twentieth-century American past determination were George Wallace and Ross Perot, and immoderate person adjacent argued that Ronald Reagan utilized populist strategies successful his statesmanlike campaigns.
Looking astatine it that way, Bernie and Trump are 2 sides of the aforesaid populist coin, but not due to the fact that of immoderate existent dedication to the “good people” connected Trump’s part. Whereas Bernie’s populism elevates each Americans against a minuscule, corrupt people of wealth-hoarding billionaires, Trump’s populism divides and excludes. “The U.S. has go a dumping crushed for everybody else’s problems,” Trump declared successful his code announcing his statesmanlike campaign. Those “problems,” successful his view, were immigrants.
Trump could not person been much explicit arsenic to who belonged successful his “us” group, and who were the “them” that caused their suffering.
I person nary uncertainty that the occurrence of Bernie’s then-fledgling run was connected Trump’s caput erstwhile helium decided to run. Bernie was attracting large, passionate crowds successful Iowa, and the property had begun remarking connected “Bernie-mentum.” That’s astir apt wherefore Trump came successful blistery with talking points Bernie had developed implicit years of politicking: healthcare costs, disappearing jobs, and the uncertain aboriginal of the societal information net. He knew that the problems Bernie underscored successful code aft code were ringing large and wide successful the ears of an electorate inactive reeling from the aftershocks of the 2008 Great Recession.
But helium besides knew his blimpish audience. So, erstwhile helium inflamed the choler of the masses implicit the dying American dream, helium directed that choler onto immigrants, Mexico, China, and the “morally corrupt” and “incompetent” radical holding office, among others. And portion Bernie emphasized the request for corporate conflict and action, Trump positioned himself arsenic the uniquely qualified idiosyncratic to prevention the state from within.
Never caput that Trump encapsulated the precise benignant of elitism and wealthiness accumulation Bernie lambasted against. His descent by aureate escalator down to the signifier wherever helium professed his statesmanlike ambitions was not immoderate benignant of deranged irony, but alternatively a ocular mode to underscore his résumé: Here’s my wealthiness and power, helium seemed to declare, and that makes maine impervious to extracurricular unit oregon influences. He was much explicit successful his code that day: “We request a genuinely large person now. We request a person that wrote The Art of the Deal.” He continued: “I don’t request anybody’s money. I’m utilizing my ain money. I’m not utilizing the lobbyists. I’m not utilizing donors. I don’t care. I’m truly affluent . . . That’s the benignant of reasoning you request for this country.”
I can’t spell truthful acold arsenic to assertion that Bernie was the inspiration for Trump’s foray into populism. He had large examples successful far-right populist leaders astir the world: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Narendra Modi successful India, and Brazil’s embattled Jair Bolsonaro, not to notation humanities figures similar Britain’s Margaret Thatcher. Trump blended seamlessly into and importantly bolstered the planetary power of a governmental people that scholars progressively telephone “authoritarian populists.”
As the sanction suggests, these politicians usage populist rhetoric cynically arsenic a conveyance for gaining power. Their ideology feeds disconnected nativism and an absorption to diversity. They emergence to bureau by identifying themselves arsenic liberators of the “true people” that the corrupt governmental constitution has allowed to beryllium beaten down by outsiders—immigrants, queer people, immoderate number that is readily scapegoated. Crucially, arsenic governmental idiosyncratic Stuart Hall articulated erstwhile coining the word successful 1979 to picture Thatcher, authoritarian populism is an “exceptional signifier of the capitalist state,” successful that the dressings of a wide ideology stay adjacent arsenic powerfulness accumulates successful the hands of the few—or the one.
Trump could not person been much explicit arsenic to who belonged successful his “us” group, and who were the “them” that caused their suffering. “People that unrecorded present legally, they emotion Donald Trump,” helium said astatine a run lawsuit successful Pittsburgh, calling for closed borders. Skyrocketing healthcare prices were truly the responsibility of Barack Obama and his wide cronies, and Clinton was the “most dishonest” person of them all. While pointing to the enactment of TV crews and journalists successful the backmost of the auditorium, helium said, “These are the astir dishonest people. These radical are acold worse than the politicians.”
The astir important and, backmost successful 2016, the astir inflammatory facet of Trump’s run was his overseas argumentation platform. Here, too, helium created a xenophobic amusive location reflector mentation of Bernie’s talking points. Since the infinitesimal Bernie announced his volition to tally for president, helium had distinguished himself from Clinton successful his overseas argumentation voting record—most significantly, his long-standing absorption to the warfare successful Iraq. “I voted against the warfare successful Iraq,” Bernie told reporters successful April 2015. “And not lone did I ballot against it . . . galore of the things that I said backmost past turned retired to beryllium true.”
If lone idiosyncratic arsenic astute and charismatic arsenic Trump were successful bureau astatine that time, everything would beryllium different.
Clinton’s enactment for the Iraq War was 1 of the biggest liabilities she faced successful her campaign, and Trump exploited it, some to instrumentality the flames of absorption to Clinton and to harness the choler of blimpish Americans, which helium redirected toward “others”—not Mexican migrants this time, but Muslims. In his run announcement, Trump claimed to person opposed the Iraq War, going truthful acold arsenic to accidental that helium “made each of the close predictions astir Iraq.” Unsurprisingly, helium wasn’t telling the truth. In fact, the grounds shows helium was successful enactment of going to warfare successful 2002. In a speech with daze jock Howard Stern astatine the time, Stern asked him, “Are you for invading Iraq?” And Trump replied, “Yeah, I conjecture so.” I recognize present that I could person enactment that clip to large usage successful a wide predetermination ad.
But arsenic has go clear, Trump’s narration with the information is simply a precise flexible one, and during the 2016 campaign, helium conveniently utilized the mendacious assertion that helium opposed the warfare to spot blasted connected ISIS for the suffering of the American mediate class. ISIS is wherefore the terms of state is high. ISIS is wherefore you don’t consciousness harmless successful your suburban enclaves, helium emphatically claimed. If lone idiosyncratic arsenic astute and charismatic arsenic Trump were successful bureau astatine that time, everything would beryllium different.
His archetypal run video, released successful January 2016, placed the blasted for America’s illness connected Democratic leaders and Muslims: Photos of Obama and Clinton were replaced by mug shots of 2 seemingly Muslim radical portion constabulary sirens rang successful the background. “The politicians tin unreal it’s thing else, but Donald Trump calls it ‘radical Islamic terrorism,’” a faceless orator boomed. “That’s wherefore he’s calling for a impermanent shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
In April 2016, successful beforehand of the largest assemblage of his run to day astatine Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, Bernie assured his supporters that Trump would ne'er win. “The American radical volition not enactment a campaigner who insults Mexicans and Latinos,” helium said, “who insults Muslims, who insults women, who insults veterans, who insults the African American community.” At that point, Bernie was person to Clinton successful the nationalist polls than helium had ever been and ever would be. “We bash not correspond the interests of Wall Street oregon the billionaires’ people oregon firm America,” Bernie said. “We don’t privation their money. We’re going to bash it a antithetic way.”
A week aft Bernie’s Brooklyn rally, Trump echoed his points successful a tweet, saying, “The Establishment and peculiar interests are perfectly sidesplitting our country.” His tweet linked to a video successful which, portion lasting successful 1 of the offices of his solid operation that pierces the Manhattan skyline, helium promised: “We’ll enactment with the establishment, but they’re nary longer going to power what’s happening. We’re going to power it, and that’s going to beryllium bully for you.” The echoes were unmistakable.
But it wasn’t going to beryllium bully for “you,” unless you were a billionaire tech mogul oregon spineless sycophant. Trump’s assertion to credibility, the expected shield from power that his wealthiness offered, was laid down adjacent earlier the Oval Office became his bid center.
I americium not the lone 1 who thinks Bernie would person won.
Now America’s mediate and moving classes look greater nutrient insecurity, little economical mobility, and higher healthcare costs than they did successful 2016. And erstwhile an actual threat to each the American radical arose successful the COVID-19 pandemic, notwithstanding Operation Warp Speed, Trump repeatedly failed to support them, prioritizing the country’s GDP implicit the wellness and lives of its people. But that was China’s fault, apparently.
When zooming out, with the retrospective knowing that 2016 was a contention that would reward the outsider, Trump’s triumph implicit Clinton successful the wide predetermination seems inevitable. As does the consciousness that it would person been precise overmuch tougher for him to bushed Bernie. Trump could not person asked for a amended hostile to clasp up arsenic a caricature of the aforesaid governmental elite helium told supporters to blasted and hate. Hillary’s extended electoral acquisition became not an endorsement of her qualifications, but alternatively a liability for Trump to exploit. Where determination was splintering among conservatives astir however champion to steer the state forward, Trump recovered the thread that unified them: vexation with Washington.
He and Bernie some embodied versions of the outsider “change” campaigner that the nationalist not lone desperately sought but demanded. The quality is that the Republican Party yet rallied astir their alteration candidate, portion the Democratic Party sabotaged theirs. If Bernie had claimed the Democratic nomination, I judge that his April 2016 Prospect Park assertion of Trump’s un-electability would person been correct.
One past portion of grounds close earlier the predetermination confirmed that impression. Just a mates of days earlier the voting successful November 2016, Gravis Marketing released a canvass that was paid for by a Democratic congressman who supported Bernie. The canvass had 1,600 respondents, and it recovered that Bernie had a 56–44 pb implicit Trump. A 12-point triumph successful a statesmanlike run is simply a landslide, and I’m definite galore down-ballot Democrats would person been carried into bureau by an electorate that gave Bernie a double-digit win. Yes, I recognize that the circumstances would person been antithetic if helium had been the nominee alternatively of Hillary, but I besides recognize that we would person campaigned successful places similar Michigan and Wisconsin successful the wide election, not conscionable with our candidate, but with the resources of advertizing that helped Bernie triumph those states successful the primaries.
I americium not the lone 1 who thinks Bernie would person won. It’s a unusual happening to say, but the top truth-teller successful a post-election reappraisal held each 4 years astatine Harvard University turned retired to beryllium Donald Trump’s pollster. In 2017, Trump’s main pollster, Tony Fabrizio, noted that Bernie had the imaginable to garner the ballot of the achromatic moving class, a radical of voters who vastly preferred Trump implicit Clinton. “What bash you deliberation happens successful Sanders v. Trump?” the moderator asked him. Without missing a beat, Trump’s pollster replied, “I deliberation Sanders beats him.”
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From How the Democrats Screwed Bernie by Tad Devine. Copyright © 2026 by Thomas A. Devine. Reprinted by support of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
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