I think it was a confluence of several things:
There’s been a growing hard/alt-right movement in this country. Things like GamerGate (which Bannon all but admitted as being a grassroots recruitment drive), the increased backlash against academia, etc. Russia has played into it in several ways: having RT be a primary source for Breitbart, social media bots posting/tweeting/retweeting things, etc.
Racism. It was always there, and Obama’s presidency galvanized white conservatives. The whole notion that Trump “isn’t afraid to say it like it is” simply means that racists see him as legitimizing their views. This is tied to the above, but deserves special notice. See: shit like Charlottesville.
Trump’s personality. He’s dumb. He’s egotistical. He’s defensive. He’s an ass kisser/sycophant. He wants nothing more to impress actual business leaders so he can appear tough/cool. This means he’s easily manipulated. And that desperation to be taken seriously was exploited by Russia.
Our election system, specifically the Electoral College. It’s designed to punish urban areas and reward land owners. It was rigged from the start. So, we get bullshit like a guy losing the actual vote by 3 million votes, but winning the office anyway.
So, I don’t think there were a handful of people sitting in a dark, smoke filled room manipulating things from the shadows. It’s just that Trump is the definition of useful idiot, and disparate groups/individuals see him as the best way for their interests to be realized.
There’s been a growing hard/alt-right movement in this country. Things like GamerGate (which Bannon all but admitted as being a grassroots recruitment drive), the increased backlash against academia, etc. Russia has played into it in several ways: having RT be a primary source for Breitbart, social media bots posting/tweeting/retweeting things, etc.
Racism. It was always there, and Obama’s presidency galvanized white conservatives. The whole notion that Trump “isn’t afraid to say it like it is” simply means that racists see him as legitimizing their views. This is tied to the above, but deserves special notice. See: shit like Charlottesville.
Trump’s personality. He’s dumb. He’s egotistical. He’s defensive. He’s an ass kisser/sycophant. He wants nothing more to impress actual business leaders so he can appear tough/cool. This means he’s easily manipulated. And that desperation to be taken seriously was exploited by Russia.
Our election system, specifically the Electoral College. It’s designed to punish urban areas and reward land owners. It was rigged from the start. So, we get bullshit like a guy losing the actual vote by 3 million votes, but winning the office anyway.
So, I don’t think there were a handful of people sitting in a dark, smoke filled room manipulating things from the shadows. It’s just that Trump is the definition of useful idiot, and disparate groups/individuals see him as the best way for their interests to be realized.
