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Liberals had nine years to decipher Mr. Trump’s appeal — and they failed. The Democrats are a party of college graduates, as the whole world understands by now, of Ph.D.s and genius-grant winners and the best consultants money can buy. Mr. Trump is a con man straight out of Mark Twain; he will say anything, promise anything, do nothing. But his movement baffled the party of education and innovation. Their most brilliant minds couldn’t figure him out.
I meant things like “inflation is too high” and “I can’t afford groceries” and “I fear for my safety because of increased crime in my area.” The things that most people really care about.
If you look at the polls, these issues were what drove voters the most, not the whole list of things that you mentioned.