Why Trump? Unpacking the Political Culture Behind the MAGA Movement with Dr. Douglas Giles
Published on Sep 15, 2024, 5:30:36 PM
Total time: 02:03:00
Published on Sep 15, 2024, 5:30:36 PM
Total time: 02:03:00
“We’re stuck with Trump because the United States created Trump.”
Sean’s Monologue: From Neoliberalism to Trump
Today, Coup Save America speaks with social philosopher Dr. Douglas Giles, the author of Why Trump? Why Some People Support Him—How the Rest of Us Can Respond. Dr. Giles is an assistant professor at Elmhurst University, where he researches the root causes of bigotry and injustice and their role in political action.
Douglas launches straight into explaining how Donald Trump is more of a symptom than a cause – a conman and a “useful figurehead” for the Republican Party to rally the disaffected white working class. Douglas points out how Trump gained popularity because “This guy hates the same things I hate”, and he discusses “ressentiment” – a French term used by philosopher Max Scheler to describe a particular form of hatred that arises from beliefs that one is lacking recognition and thus is socially impotent.
Douglas and Sean chat about the immigration controversy and how much resistance to difference plays into the myth of American exceptionalism. Do we really have a border crisis? How about JD Vance & those pet-eating Haitian immigrants? And what about that term “woke”?
In getting to the bottom of the problem, Dr. Giles gives us an overview of Calvinism, discusses Lewis Charles Levin and nativism, then explains why the MAGA feels new to us – and yet it isn’t.
Douglas goes on to compare the novel The Turner Diaries to Project 2025, and then describes how Bill Clinton changed the operation of the Democratic Party and how the Democratic Party changed Obama. Is Donald Trump a fascist? Dr. Giles does not think so. He believes that the new name for fascism should be “concentration of power.” And what’s the difference between “deliberate democracy” and “open democracy”?
Sean and Douglas talk about the usual subjects – how the term socialism has become corrupted, how Americans give in to media control, and how the “fake Left” is only interested in opposition, not equality for all humans. They conclude the conversation with thoughts on the Trump/Harris debate and speculations about the upcoming presidential election.
You can find Douglas Giles’ books on Amazon & his thoughts at:
https://dgilesphilosopher.medium.com/
Coup Save America is a weekly talk show hosted by Sean St. Heart that plants the mental seeds of social change by inciting a politically progressive (peaceful) coup of knowledgeable citizens to challenge the status quo. Each episode focuses on a specific issue, featuring expert guests and interviews with the people who are most affected by the problems in our country. The show uses a sociological approach to raise awareness, ponder solutions, and consider the various perspectives. Coup Save America hopes to create an avenue for our nation to reach its potential for greatness!
Coup Save America is a radically left-wing expose on America that uses facts, humor, and intellectual wit to expose the myths surrounding the great western democracy that exists only in the heavily propagandized lore of American history-i-fiction. Each show features in-depth analysis of America’s anti-democratic domestic and foreign policies, a breakdown of the week's news and events that are either ignored or misrepresented by western media, information on the latest crimes emerging from the district of corruption, coverage of the wars and global conflicts being waged unbeknownst to the America people, and a depressingly comedic rundown of the political insanity emanating from both the left and right-wing spectrum.