Tribalism is now the operative word to describe the political landscape since Donald Trump's electoral victory in 2016.

Carl Cannon, writing for Real Clear Politics on October 18, 2018, notes a new study that identifies "five American 'tribes' of voters across the country.  John Della Volpe led a survey that observed two tribes of Trump voters, a group he identifies as the resistance; a group of independent "blues" and a detached group.  MSNBC's Steve Kornacki wrote a book this year called The Red and the Blue: The 1990s and the Birth of Political Tribalism.  In an October 2018 review, The Guardian notes of Konicki, "he lays out his thesis: the last decade of the 20th century gave rise to the tribalism and polarization that dominates [sic] American politics today."

The media experts and pundits seem to agree that American politics are now rooted in well defined tribes.  As widespread as this view seems to be, I think it misses the mark.

Rush Limbaugh, in an interview with Sean Hannity, described it well.  "The Washington establishment, to this day, does not understand Donald Trump.  They don't understand his voters, and they are not curious to find out why.  They just resent it."  He continues to describe the real divide in American politics, and it has nothing to do with tribes.  "It's elite versus real people.  It's somebody that is fearless and willing to fight against the things that no Republican has been willing to fight against or defend." 

The divide in American politics is not tribalism.  It is still a binary choice.  Instead of the traditional Republican versus Democrat version, we now live in a nation divided by elites and regular people.

Who are the elites?  Victor Davis Hanson gives a plausible definition in Newsweek, September 17, 2016.  He writes, "An elite is defined by education (preferably Ivy League and its coastal counterparts), residence (primarily between Boston and Washington on the East Coast and from San Diego to Berkeley on the Pacific), profession (executive positions in government, media, law, foundations, the arts and academia), celebrity (name recognition from television, Hollywood, network news, finance, etc.) and ideology, such as those prominent in the progressive movement."

Elites can be successful people, and there's nothing wrong with that.  They are part of both political parties and make up what is generally called the "establishment."  While they often are accomplished people, they occasionally appear arrogant.  They tend to pontificate to regular folks about what is acceptable and what isn't.  They use their platforms to decry what is wrong with the values of regular Americans.  For example, Salena Zito, in a New York Post article from January 11, 2017, quotes a tweet of Melinda Byerley, the founder of a Silicon Valley-based tech startup that does "free-range, artisanal, organic, customized marketing," sharing her opinion on Middle America's jobs attraction problem.  Byerley tweeted that middle America needs to realize "no educated person wants to live in a s------- with stupid people," which is why she said big corporations don't move to the Heartland: "Those towns have nothing going for them," with "no infrastructure, just a few bars and a terrible school system."

So just who are the regular people?  Ms. Zito, in the same article, captures the heart of who regular folks are.  She writes, "Some Americans just don't need much; they don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to have a 1,500-square-foot house, watch football and go to church on Sunday.  They don't want to leave their hometowns to come to Silicon Valley or Washington, DC, or Manhattan.  They place great value on community and living near family and carrying out family traditions.  That's not hate, that's not stupidity, that's not racism – it's their own version of the American dream."

How did a Queens, New York real estate mogul become the champion of the regular people?  This important question is misunderstood by the president's opponents and critics.  Donald Trump is loved by many people across this country.  He boldly speaks out against the elites.  He says what regular people across the country wish they had a platform to say.  The moniker "Crooked Hillary" irritated the left but resonated in the Heartland.  Calling out the bias of the media (CNN, MSNBC, and others) by labeling them "fake news" rankles the establishment but is revered by regular folks who think the media have been twisting the truth for a long time.

President Trump, unlike so many other politicians, seems to genuinely care about regular folks.  It is evident to them in his words and his actions.  In August of 2018, CNBC reported, "Over the past year through July, U.S. manufacturing added 327,000 jobs, the most of any 12-month period since April 1995, when the figure added a healthy 345,000 positions."  President Trump also keeps his promises to the regular people.  Two excellent conservative jurists have been appointed to the Supreme Court.  Large numbers of conservative judges have passed through the Senate, leaving an indelible mark on the judiciary.  He pulled out of the Iran deal, as he said he would.  He moved the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as he promised.  He pushed through Congress a huge tax cut, which was also promised.  As Rich Lowry wrote in a May 10, 2018 column for the New York Post, "'he said he would do this,' has been a remarkably reliable guide to the Trump agenda."

The presidency of Donald Trump has not divided us into tribes.  It has been a revolt against the excesses of the elite.  Regular people have a champion and a voice.  It is the bond between Trump and his voters that will likely hold the Senate for the Republicans.  It is loyalty to the president that keeps the House in play for the Republicans, even though, historically, it shouldn't be.  It is that passion and trust that may fuel a Trump second term in 2020.

Bill Thomas has been in local church ministry for over twenty-five years.  He is also an adjunct instructor in history, the Bible, and education for two different Christian colleges.  He's authored two novellas, From the Ashes and The Sixty-First Minute, published by White Feather Press of Michigan, and three Bible studies, Surrounded by Grace, The Critical Questions and More, and The Road to Victory, published by CSS Publishing of Ohio.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.