August 2016: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. (c) Evan Vucci / AP / Press Association Images. All rights reserved.Just a few months ago, when most of my friends were still saying that there was no way Donald Trump would get the Republican nomination, I already had that sinking feeling — the same feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I watch Russian president Vladimir Putin speak.
Beyond silly nicknames such as “the Siberian candidate” and even sillier accusations of Trump’s direct collusion with Russian security services over the DNC hack lies a simple truth: both Trump and Putin appeal primarily to people who are angry, often justifiably so, as well as fearful, resentful and with no more patience for facts. Simply put, the phenomenon that is “Trumputin” appeals to the irrational part of the human psyche.
We’re used to throwing “irrational” around as an insult, but it has power — especially in times of economic and social upheaval. Russia has been stumbling from upheaval to upheaval for years now. As for the United States, we are now finding out just how fragile our democracy, and democracy in general, really is.
