President Obama, who understood the need for diplomatic behavior, created an “anger translator” named Luther as a comic device to tell people how intensely he really felt. Trump, obviously, has no need of such a device; he can handle the job quite nicely himself. The question for the day is how did Trump’s use of language impact the campaign?
There is nothing about Trump’s background which suggests that he is in any way a suitable mouthpiece for white working people. He grew up rich, has a flamboyant lifestyle, screwed over his contractors, investors, and customers on a regular basis, and proposed an economic plan that was overwhelmingly favorable to the wealthy. The only thing connecting him to working people, other than his status as an old white guy, was his, shall we say, frank way of expressing himself. And so, I have to conclude that Trump largely succeeded because he was the anger translator for millions of discontented Americans.
Of course, that persona becomes a bit of a problem when he deals with the outside world. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Australians.