Brooks: ‘Should Be Open To’ Possibility Trump Marshals Populist Movement, Anti-Populists ‘Have No Guts’

On Friday’s broadcast of “PBS NewsHour,” New York Times columnist David Brooks stated, “maybe Trump is riding something, and he will be able to marshal a left-right populist movement. That’s a possibility we should be open to, especially because the anti-populists, people who believe in global trade and global movements, have no guts, no articulation, and really no opposition.”

Brooks said, “The story of the day was the really unabashed populism and nationalism of the Trump speech. And so, I’m left with two big questions: How big is this nationalist moment? It’s been spread around the world. Theresa May just gave an anti — how they’re going to withdraw from Brexit, the UK. Le Pen is looking good in France. Putin is riding high. There’s an international movement. A lot of us sort of dismiss as sort of a product of a receding bit of history, but maybe it’s the 21st century. And maybe Trump is riding something, and he will be able to marshal a left-right populist movement. That’s a possibility we should be open to, especially because the anti-populists, people who believe in global trade and global movements, have no guts, no articulation, and really no opposition. And then the second thing, how is he going to turn this into policy? How does an outsider who runs against Washington actually rally Washington to launch his agenda? That’s just a gigantic challenge.”

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