Michael R. Strain, Columnist

How to Shorten the Lifespan of Trumpian Populism

There's an antidote for this virus (if we are strong enough to use it).

November 1, 2017 at 8:45 AM EDT

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

Two things are missing here.
Photographer: David McNew/Getty Images

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George W. Bush recently offered a powerful critique of Trumpian populism, arguing that in America today “bigotry seems emboldened” and “our politics seems more vulnerable to conspiracy theories and outright fabrication.” The former president bemoaned the rise of nativism and isolationism, and the “casual cruelty” in our public discourse.

These are familiar arguments, of course, but hearing them from Bush -- whose dignified retreat from public life during the Barack Obama years was widely admired -- resonated. More than that, though, the reason his speech has lingered in my mind for the last two weeks is his belief that this current populist moment can be temporary.

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