Donald Trump’s rise to the forefront of the Republican Party is quite ironic given it happened on the back of an anti-elite movement. During the tea party era, many Republicans were frustrated with the party’s Washington establishment and resented being told by political elites what to do or believe. This anger was more about deeper issues but was expressed as frustration with the elites.
Then, in 2016, they nominated a billionaire from Manhattan to be their presidential candidate.
This contradiction has been noted many times before but remains striking. Trump and his party campaign against elites while asking voters to support candidates who are themselves considered elites.
This contradiction is even more apparent with Vice President Kamala Harris’s selection of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for her presidential bid. Walz, being a governor, is elite in terms of power, but in other ways, he is far from the typical elite seen in recent major-party tickets.
In 2022, a Yahoo News poll conducted by YouGov asked Americans what qualifies someone as “elite.” The answers showed that eliteness is about money and power. Both Democrats and Republicans agreed on this, though they were more likely to label their opponents as elites.
Five characteristics stood out: being rich, making over $100,000 a year, running a big business, working in D.C., or graduating from a top college. Comparing recent major-party candidates, each matched qualification was marked with a monocle.
Trump stands out as a clear elite: he owns a big business, is a billionaire, and attended the Wharton School of Finance. We didn’t consider “living on the coast” since it’s not widely seen as a marker of eliteness, but Trump fits this too.
Walz, on the other hand, makes over $100,000 a year as governor but is not rich by elite standards. His net worth is estimated to be between $362,000 and $830,000, mainly from a rental room in his home. He owns no stock and attended public universities. By these measures, Walz is an “un-elite.”
Yet, “elite” is more about perception than reality. A billionaire New Yorker opposing immigration is seen as a working-class hero, while a Scranton native who attended the University of Delaware and advocates for climate action is deemed an elite.
Also Read:
- Trump Says Christians Won’t Need to Vote After 2024: What He Really Meant
- No More Income Taxes? Trump’s Proposal and Its Impact on Your Home Buying Power
Walz will likely be labeled as another liberal elite soon, maybe even by Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, a Yale graduate and former Silicon Valley venture capitalist. That’s just politics.
