On Trump, Guns and Torture

Abstract

As idiosyncratic as Donald Trump is, it would be unlikely if others of his nature had not appeared on America’s political scene in its over 200 year history. And, indeed, we find that there have been others, particularly the notorious President Andrew Jackson. It can be argued that both men appealed to the same sort of disaffected voter—those who were/are estranged from the political status quo and sought to have enemies singled out for them. They easily were swayed by leaders who appeared to be outsiders just like them as well as fighting heroes. Their identity with their hero was/is more powerful than their loyalty to the Constitution and its principles.