Link 1 · 2015–2017

Modern populism

Two very different politicians, one way of speaking: the people against the elite.

Donald Trump takes the oath of office, Washington, 20 January 2017 · The White House, public domain

Key idea

Populism. Politics described as a fight between ordinary people and a corrupt elite. It appears on the right and on the left.

2 billion

people were governed by leaders who use populist rhetoric by 2019, up from 120 million at the turn of the millennium.

Global Populism Database (Team Populism and The Guardian), reported in The Globe and Mail

Primary sources

Donald Trump, Inaugural Address

Washington, 20 January 2017 · Republican

"The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country."

He also said that 20 January 2017 would be remembered as "the day the people became the rulers of this nation again."

Read the full speech (American Presidency Project) →

Bernie Sanders, speech announcing his campaign for president

Burlington, Vermont, 26 May 2015 · Democratic primary

"…it was not good enough for the billionaire class to own much of our economy."

Read the full speech (American Presidency Project) →

At night under stadium lights, Bernie Sanders speaks from a lectern to a large crowd — Bernie Sanders speaks to students at the University of California, Davis, 1 June 2016 · SVeach94, CC BY-SA 4.0

Clip: Bernie Sanders's campaign kickoff, Burlington waterfront, 26 May 2015 (Channel 17 / CCTV) Clip: Donald Trump's inaugural address, 20 January 2017 (PBS NewsHour Classroom)

Questions

1. In each speech, who are "the people" and who is the enemy? Write down the words that tell you.

2. Trump and Sanders disagree on almost every policy. What do their speeches have in common?

3. Trump says 20 January 2017 is "the day the people became the rulers of this nation again." Who ruled before, according to him? Is this sentence a description or a promise?

4. Is "the people against the elite" a fair description of how power works, an exaggeration, or both? Give one example.

Neither man invented this language. Where had Americans heard "the 1% against the 99%" a few years earlier?