Liberals are freaking out about Trump for all the wrong reasons

Make up your mind, progressives: Is Trump awful because he's a standard Republican, or because he's not?

Reevaluate your reasonings for protesting Donald Trump.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)

It sucks when your political coalition loses an election. In these highly charged, polarizing times, an electoral defeat seems to evoke not just sadness, but a psychological meltdown on behalf of the losing side. The right went through this in 2008, and it seems the left is going through it as we speak.

Some of this is just howls of pain. Hysterical venting is more therapeutic than anything. But another part of the progressive reaction to Trump reflects a deep rift within the left on how to understand the Trump phenomenon.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.