Trump and History

Buchanan thinks that the current Trump controversy is part of a long American history of elite opposition to any attempt to supplant their influence.

"Attempts to overturn elections where elites are repudiated are not uncommon in U.S. history. Both Nixon and Reagan, after 49-state landslides, were faced with attempts to overturn the election results.

With Nixon in Watergate, the elites succeeded. With Reagan in Iran-Contra, they almost succeeded in destroying that great president as he was ending the Cold War in a bloodless victory for the West.

After Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson sought to prevent Radical Republicans from imposing a ruthless Reconstruction on a defeated and devastated South.

The Radicals enacted the Tenure of Office Act, stripping Johnson of his authority to remove any member of the Cabinet without Senate permission. Johnson defied the Radicals and fired their agent in the Cabinet, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

“Tennessee” Johnson was impeached, and missed conviction by one vote."

I'm not so sure. No doubt the country is run by people who are used to running it and Trump interrupts that. But Trump is a lot more than an elite antagonist; he is a difficult, combative and obnoxious guy whose policies are often anything but clear. He is not an easy guy to have everyone rally behind.