Political Philosophy

Many people talk about Donald Trump. Some people love him, and some people hate him. Some people try to explain why people love or hate Trump. Despite the copious conversation and plenteous explanations, there’s a lack of clarity about why people support Trump. Neither academia nor the political pundits can adequately explain the phenomenon that is Trump.

Why do some people support Trump? Why has the subject of Trump become the dominant subject of US politics? Why Trump? considers those questions and connected questions by looking at American history to reach the conclusion that the phenomena really isn't about Trump. He's a symptom more than a cause. Realizing that simple reality opens the door to a deeper understanding of the particular strain of US political culture that is behind the movement that currently takes Trump as its center of focus. There is little new in Trump or the things he says and does. His success in attaining power lies in his ability to harness a long-simmering feeling in a segment of the American population.

If you’re looking for a hit piece against Donald Trump, this book is not for you. If you’re looking for a hagiography extolling Trump, this book is not for you. This book is for you if you want to understand why people support Trump and similar right-wing politicians and what it means for the future. Stepping away from the partisan bickering of America’s political duopoly, Why Trump? takes seriously the question of why people support Trump. What do they see in him and why? Avoiding oversimplification, Dr. Giles provides a serious historical and philosophical analysis of the dynamics at play in the support of and opposition to Trump and offers concrete proposals for moving politics beyond its current morass of antagonism.