Mar 23, 2020

Sanders and Trump, The peoples’ party?

Written By: Donovan Giardina
https://medium.com/@marcushjohnson/bernie-sanders-and-donald-trump-are-two-sides-of-the-same-coin-a862b80762e7

Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders run on populist’s platforms that claim to be in favor of the people, but how can they have such different political stances?  At their cores, both the Sanders and Trump campaigns attempt to polarize people, but focus on different political issues to target different demographics.  According to Jan-Werner Müller in his book, “What is Populism?”, there are a number of characteristics that a candidate must exhibit before he or she can be a true populist. As Trump has already won one election and Sanders is a front-runner in the Democratic party, is it problematic that these two are the most likely candidates to lead our democracy and run on populist platforms?   According to Müller, there are three main characteristics that indicate that someone is a populist:

  1. He or she is anti-elitist.
  2. He or she is anti-pluralist.
  3. He or she is the only candidate that represents the people.

By the end of this blog, it will be clear how both candidates fit this template of populism despite being on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

How many times have we heard Senator Sanders attack the “billionaire class” for not shouldering their share of the tax burden or how big bankers on Wall Street are constantly stealing from the poor to line their own pockets? The Senator paints a very clear picture of who his supporters should be concerned about fighting against and why the fight is so important.

On the other side of the same coin, there is President Trump.  The President’s rhetoric purporting his distrust of the Washington political elite was a constant in his first campaign.  Painting the current political establishment as the cause of the common people’s plight was a well-used tool in the President’s arsenal.  Additionally, the president’s anti-immigration sentiments are still echoed to this day.

In both instances, there is a clear pattern of the candidate attempting to paint a group of people as the ones the common American should be concerned with as they were the ones responsible for whatever problem the people face.  Müller tells us that being critical of the elite and championing the common people are traits of any true populist.

Another hallmark of populism is the unspoken doctrine of anyone who is not with the movement is part of the problem.  In order to galvanize people, populists make their followers think that their particular way is the only way.  Donald Trump has said time and again that the people against his way of thinking are “un-American” or the politicians who criticize him are bullies.  This line of thinking creates the feeling to Trump’s followers that not only are the people who disagree with his views wrong, but there is something wrong with them as well.  Bernie Sanders does much of the same thing, but with different targets.  Anyone who does not support Senator Sanders or is critical of his views are in the pockets of the billionaire class.  Much in the same way that a jockey puts blinders on a horse so that the horse can only focus on the track, Sanders and Trump lead people to believe that their way is the only way so that the voters will only focus on their respective messages. 

When someone actually examines Senator Sanders’ and President Trump’s campaigns, that person would find that there is not as much that separates the two candidates as either would want you to believe.  The fact that they both attempt to vilify groups of people in nearly the same manner is alarming.  The only difference seems to be the intended targets.

Campaigning to a particular base in politics is not unheard of.  There is nothing wrong with believing that one’s choice in candidates is the best; the point of democracy is that there are choices and the people should make them. However, when a candidate thinks that he or she is the only one who truly speaks for the people, there arises a problem.  Populism, as a platform, is inherently at odds with democracy.  Democracy attempts to give voice to all of the people while populism would hold that there is only one true voice to be heard.  In respect to Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump, people can argue the issues that each stands for; a representative democracy should have candidates of differing opinions.  The problem is that each candidate, despite using nearly identical tactics, believes the other to be truly “un-American”. 

If one is to believe Senator Sanders and President Trump, the American political establishment is broken.  This broken system is not representing the “true will” of the American public and is failing them.  If this is true, how is it that one populist did not win the candidacy for the party he was running for and the other won the presidency, but not the popular vote?

Sign Up For Updates

Get the latest updates, research, teaching opportunities, and event information from the Democratic Erosion Consortium by signing up for our listserv.

Popular Tags

Popular Categories

3 Comments

  1. Whitney Brown

    Donvan, this was an interesting comparison to make as both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have been seen as outsiders in their parties. It is interesting to note, however, the way Trump has been able to assimilate to the Republican party and has become their voice over the past 4 years. I enjoyed the way you broke down the characteristics of populism as listed by Muller and then showed the way each man fit this idea. Both men have used tactics of aligning themselves with the every man while attacking the other whether it is Washington’s political elite or Wall Street Billionaires; there has to be a villain to attack so that these men can play the hero. Your ending statement is also very thought provoking and seems to suggest that the country is fractured not only between the two parties but within the parties themselves. Thank you for sharing your insight!

  2. Payton Scott

    I enjoyed your blog immensely. It is very important for the people to understand the similarities between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. Not only are they similar in their attacks on particular people within our society, but they have similar policy beliefs as well. Both are very tough on trade and both have a hostile view toward economic trade deals like NAFTA. Both are desperately trying to communicate to the same base as well. Your final sentence brings up a very interesting question. Why would Donald Trump win even though he was not the popular choice and how has he become the leader of his party, but Bernie Sanders has been criticized and ridiculed by members of his party and relatively poorly represented by the Democratic Party? Could it be that if someone who is “anti-establishment” has to win it might as well be the one who will benefit those with power in this country? Donald Trump may relay the feeling of an “anti-establishment” candidate, but he is not hostile towards those in the United States with money and therefore power. Bernie Sanders is obviously and openly hostile to those exact people. Maybe this could be a reason for this odd phenomenon.

  3. Minh Nguyen

    I enjoyed reading your blog post. This is an interesting topic and it has been a debate for a long time due to their different political agendas. Donald Trump criticized Bernie Sanders for being a populist, who would bring down the country because of his softness to other countries and the stock market. Bernie Sanders told people that Donald Trump does not belong to the majority American people because of his aggressiveness on the stock market and unpredictable actions on the foreign policies, which are against the American traditional policies. Bernie Sanders also used the Corona Virus to attack Trump’s image that Trump’s ambitious plan to reopen the country can push more people to die.

Submit a Comment