Muddled NeverTrump thinking
I usually agree with Pulitzer Prize-winning Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and admire his clear thinking. But in his recent article, "Who Did This to Us?," I believe that his strong opposition to Trump has completely muddled his thinking. He argues that Trump is a "who did this to us?" guy who blames others for everything rather than a "what did we do wrong?" guy.
Regardless of what one thinks about Trump, I don't see that Stephens can make this case. We've heard Trump say many times that he did not blame China or Mexico or whomever for trying to beat us – that things are our own fault for making stupid bad deals. In fact, on his key positions – whether on immigration, the economy (taxes, regulation, etc.), law and order, national security, Trump rightly casts blame on our own poor policies, and rather than saying we are the helpless victims of outside forces, he insists that we are fully capable of making things much better (some would say unrealistically so).
Yes, Stephens is not wrong in saying that Trump supporters constitute a victim class, but Trump's message is that they are victims of a political establishment steeped in political correctness and go-along-to-get-along thinking that only gives lip service to the real issues. He's saying they have the power through the election to change things, which makes them not victims after all. Maybe I'm missing something here?