Trump's promise
He knows how it feels to be scorned and laughed at. Now it's time for vengeance.


Throughout his life, Donald Trump has been disrespected. The son of a real estate developer who built cheap rental housing in Brooklyn and Queens, Trump was sneered at when he crossed the East River to make his name in Manhattan by building glitzy hotels and condominiums. Even after he had success, sophisticates dismissed him as a "short-fingered vulgarian" and headline-hungry tabloid whore, and the derisive laughter rang in his ears when Trump Airlines and his garish Atlantic City casinos went bust. Nobody took him seriously when he repeatedly mused out loud over the past 30 years that the country was poorly led by weak men, and that his toughness and negotiating skills were just what America needed in a president.
In a compelling profile in BuzzFeed this week, political writer McKay Coppins argues that it was the disdain of the elites, intellectuals, and insiders that drove Trump to make this improbable run. President Obama may have delivered the pivotal insult at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in 2011, when he got revenge for Trump's "birther" campaign by ridiculing him as a conspiracy theorist and reality TV buffoon, as 2,500 insiders roared with laughter. "Trump just sat there," Coppins says, "stone-faced, stunned, simmering — Carrie at the prom covered in pig's blood." It's sometimes said that Trump has no core political views, no grasp of policy, no position that he won't reverse 15 minutes later; he's changed party registration at least seven times. But as both Coppins and Trump biographer Michael D'Antonio have concluded, there is a central driving force in Trump's life and his presidential campaign: shame. He intuitively grasps and channels the rage and resentment that millions of Americans feel about being shut out and left behind, and offers them his hunger for revenge. That is the platform on which he is running: You think you're better than us? We'll show you.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
William Falk is editor-in-chief of The Week, and has held that role since the magazine's first issue in 2001. He has previously been a reporter, columnist, and editor at the Gannett Westchester Newspapers and at Newsday, where he was part of two reporting teams that won Pulitzer Prizes.
-
Is Starmer's plan to send migrants overseas Rwanda 2.0?
Today's Big Question Failed asylum seekers could be removed to Balkan nations under new government plans
-
The history of animal metaphors in propaganda
The Explainer Rats, snakes and cockroaches among the imagery used to dehumanise political enemies and minority groups
-
How do new stadiums affect football clubs?
In the Spotlight Everton's decision to move its men's team out of Goodison Park could be a catalyst for vital change, but there are cautionary tales too
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy