Brexit. Colombia. Trump. In three very different places across the world, we’re witnessing the rise of serious discontent with “the way things are.” As we approach the U.S. presidential election, it’s time to stop writing off Donald Trump supporters and start understanding why Trump has received the level of support he has.
In June, Great Britain voted to leave the European Union. The decision, commonly referred to as “Brexit,” shocked people worldwide. Many people, myself included, wondered why Britain would want to leave a union that seemingly had such great benefits for their country in terms of economic growth and relationships with mainland European nations.
Then just this past week, Colombian voters rejected by the narrowest of margins a peace deal to end decades of armed conflict between the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a communist insurgency in the country’s mountainous regions. Just as with Brexit, I find myself wondering why Colombians would reject an agreement that could end a conflict that has plagued the country for generations.
In the Brexit vote, the “leave” campaign focused heavily on the harm to the British economy outside London and the inability to control immigration. In Colombia, voters expressed frustration over the lack of severe punishment for many top FARC officials and the total pardoning of many rank-and-file FARC guerrillas.
In the Trump campaign, support comes from deep anger over illegal immigration and the impact of trade globalization.
In each of these instances, there is one great commonality: people who have had to deal with the negative consequences of these trends are angry at a political class who ignored very real problems for years and are undeserving of public confidence to put their interests first.
I can’t speak to the attitudes of Brits or Colombians, but I think many of us should be able to see what is going on in our own country. There is this temptation to write off Trump supporters as racists, sexists or just plain stupid, and I’ve certainly thought that myself more than a few times. But there’s harm in categorizing an entire group of people as a basket of deplorables, and there are legitimate grievances that many Trump supporters have with America’s political establishment.
How can we deny the impact of illegal immigration and globalization on so many communities across America? While our country has experienced a net benefit from immigration and trade globalization over the last several decades, we can’t turn a blind eye to how these issues like drug abuse and poverty have disproportionately affected certain communities, such as middle-America.
All the while, leaders of both major parties failed to act on these issues. Illegal immigration was never effectively addressed as it rose rapidly through the late ’80s into the mid 2000s. As jobs, especially blue-collar manufacturing jobs, left for Mexico, China and other countries, was there enough consideration given to what those left unemployed could do for work? As these trends eroded once-strong communities and families, establishment political leaders turned their heads to their negative effects.
Support for Trump is part of a larger trend that deserves our recognition. Was Brexit the best move for Great Britain? Was rejecting the FARC peace deal the best decision by Colombian voters? Is Trump the better choice for president?
I would think the answers to each of these questions is no. But I can understand the anger and disappointment behind those decisions. The resentment of a large section of America’s (and the developed world’s) population toward a political class that has failed to address their legitimate concerns for several decades is understandable.
Trump’s protectionism and border wall will only harm efforts to create a stronger American economy and bring jobs back to these communities. But we cannot blame them for thinking their other option will just be more of the same. What has either major party done over the past several decades that should make them think otherwise?
Rather than writing off the millions of Americans who will be supporting Trump next month, we should aim to recognize their legitimate grievances with “the way things are,” and support policies that help us all get ahead. If we don’t, we might wake up on Nov. 9 as shocked as the British and the Colombians.
Sam Wallace is a public policy graduate student. He can be reached at samhwallace@gmail.com.
