Can You See Him Actually Doing It?

According to Donald Trump, every nation in the world has been pillaging the United States and he's going to put an end to it. President Trump would not only stop it but he'll make sure everyone pays.

Trump's xenophobic populism has attracted a lot of devoted followers. It's an old formula that has well served many of the most hated individuals in history. The people as victims of some foreign oppressor. When times are hard it's an easy sell. You can scapegoat just about any group, within reason.

Of course levelling threats during an election and carrying them out afterward are considerably different matters. One surely must dread to imagine what it could mean if Trump gives life to his phobic bellicosity. He could find that America's power suits the US far better when it is welcomed than when it is imposed, especially with the neighbours - Europe, Canada, Mexico in particular.

Let's hope and pray that never happens. Let's hope that Hillary prevails. Yet, if she does, what happens to the disaffected who have flocked to support not just Trump but also Bernie Sanders? Their passions and discontent stoked, where do they go? I expect we won't have to wait very long before we find out.