Quotes About Populism

The whole framework of the presidency is getting out of hand. It's come to the point where you almost can't run unless you can cause people to salivate and whip on each other with big sticks. You almost have to be a rock star to get the kind of fever you need to survive in American politics.

ignored the Wallace rallies that, night after night, packed halls in every corner of the state. That was all Wallace did—except for a few TV spots—and every one of his rallies attracted more people than the halls could hold.

Few things trigger fear and misconception more than economic tribulation, and nothing prompts elected officials to react with more simplistic populism.

I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular, so I think I should support him since we're one of the same cloth.

Brexit is a harbinger for Trump, really.

Trump is a product of a seething populism and nationalism that is the driving political force.

Politics now is fractured. The rising tide of nationalism and populism threatens to consume our politics. Whether it is Trump or Putin abroad, or Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage at home, our political order is increasingly dominated by forces that seek to divide us.

I believed I paved the way for Donald Trump. I brought ridiculousness to politics and he saw an opening and just jumped on in there.

Trump and Bernie Sanders are different sides of the same coin.

Donald Trump is about the rise of right-wing extremism, not only in this country, but in Europe.

It's a very angry electorate out there. I think Trump is tapping into that.

If I had chosen the populist course, it would have been a breach of the trust placed in me by the people.

America is always a good target for a populist. In many countries, particularly authoritarian systems, if you want to get an extra bonus, you bash the Americans.

Donald Trump came along and spoke in a language that speaks directly to a portion of the Republican base with what they want to hear. I don't think that he actually has a very significant ideology.

Trump appeals to the disaffected by loudly trumpet-ing what they want to hear: other people are always the problem, and the solution is to either put them in their proper place or get rid of them.

Reagan had predicted since the early 1960s that a "prairie fire" of conservative populism would someday sweep the nation; on November 4 it appeared that Reagan had finally struck the match.

This effort to appear dumb—or to put a positive spin on it, to "be a man of the people"—takes a lot of work that in a better world would be unnecessary. You have to really want to be a politician to undertake it.

One of the hallmarks of the Trump era is the alacrity with which intelligent people embrace stupidity.

Throughout the west, the rise of populism has shaken establishments, with politicians and commentators asking why there has been a resurgent interest in socialism, and a growth of the far right on the opposite side.

A lot of populists after populism died just became socialists. At the beginning of the 20th century, socialism looked like it was going to take off. It didn't, of course, but a lot of people thought it was going to.

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump appeal to the heart not the head, they offer simple solutions in a time of complex problems.

I think America right now is looking for somebody who appeals to every faction.

say what the masses want just to win the masses and never do what the masses want and you will loose the masses

The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people's lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.