Recording of the debate at the Battle of Ideas festival 2023 on Sunday 29 October.
ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION
Trump is perhaps the most widely vilified political leader of modern times – yet he retains a huge measure of support. So seemingly assured of securing the Republican nomination that he can forgo the candidates’ televised debates, he also transformed his arrest for interfering with the 2020 election into a world-shaking media opportunity, with his mugshot reverberating across the globe. But what underpins his appeal?
For some, it is precisely the relentless demonisation of Trump that generates the appeal – whatever Trumpists think of some of his policies or personal conduct, they identify with his vilification by the same liberal, coastal elites who denounce them as ‘deplorables’. Others insist that Trump invents and exploits animosities against immigrants and evokes a ‘paranoid’ vein in American politics. Or perhaps Trump simply appeals to voters fed up the stale consensus that has dominated American politics – or maybe he just livens things up.
What explains Trumps’ enduring appeal, and how should liberals, conservatives and populists alike respond?
SPEAKERS
Mary Dejevsky
former foreign correspondent in Moscow, Paris and Washington; special correspondent in China; writer and broadcaster
Matthew Feeney
writer; head of technology and innovation, Centre for Policy Studies; former director, Cato Institute’s Project on Emerging Technologies
Michael Goldfarb
journalist and historian, creator, FRDH Podcast; documentary maker, Evangelical or Political Christianity?; author, The Martyrdom of Ahmad Shawkat
Dr Cheryl Hudson
lecturer in US political history, University of Liverpool; author, Citizenship in Chicago: race, culture and the remaking of American identity
CHAIR
Jacob Reynolds
head of policy, MCC Brussels; associate fellow, Academy of Ideas
Trust me, I’m your doctor: are GPs in crisis?
Jack Hues in conversation: Reflections of a Rock Star
Cancel culture comes for Claire Fox
Satirical art and the Culture War, with Miriam Elia
Gary Lineker: free speech, political debate and impartiality
No, Minister! Crisis in the Civil Service
Should teachers strike during an education crisis?
Podcast of Ideas: demystifying the deal
Have Brits fallen out of love with work?
Podcast of Ideas: Frank Furedi on the Ukraine War first anniversary
What does 2023 hold for the arts?
Is the Government right to veto Sturgeon’s self-id bill?
Debating Matters Beyond Bars: Jon Floyd and Heather Phillips
#SportscastofIdeas: World Cup - the final
#SportscastOfIdeas: World Cup 2022 Upsets and Underdogs
#SportscastOfIdeas: World Cup 2022 begins
Call To Courage: Winning The Battle Of Ideas
Podcast of Ideas - Claire Fox: ’Liz Truss is gone, but this isn’t over’
Is the UK heading for economic meltdown?
How can we end the cost-of-living crisis?
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free