Does Trumpism, as a movement that goes beyond the man himself, exist?

[Santander]

The only movement/agenda being set for the future in this race is by Sanders, who has the support and admiration of an enormous majority of the Millennial generation.

Most of whom will become steadily more conservative as they get older. Younger generations are supposed to have outlandish world views that are suppressed by older generations. The young overthrowing the old leads to social reform/moral decline, but once they see that the generation after them is even more radical, they cling to their ideology and become the new conservatives. I have faith that most young Sanders (and Clinton) supporters will eventually realize the errors of their ways and I just hope that it happens before they've destroyed their country.

[Santander]

Back on topic, Trump speaks the views of the "silent majority", and it's not just a bunch of angry white men. America is a revolutionary republic that still has not lost its revolutionary fervor - it is not supposed to be a refined, polite society. Trump ditched the doublespeak of the GOP and says what the people are thinking.

Trump's message is not new, it has many of the same themes as Wallace, Buchanan, Perot and others before him, but he is a much more compelling figure than any of them. The media hails Trump Democrats as the new Reagan Democrats - that's because Trump is basically Reagan with a New York flavor instead of a Hollywood flavor. Nobody believes that Trump knows everything, but like Reagan, he will find people to delegate responsibility to. He has simplistic views, but the voters don't listen to positions anyway, so why force them to? Trump is far from GOP economic orthodoxy, but Reagan was a former union leader and not a rabid ideologue either. Trump combines the plain speaking of third-party populists before him with the people skills of Reagan, which is a powerful combination that cannot be ruled out in the general election. Trump didn't build this movement, he merely lit a torch and is lighting the way.

Until recently, I never believed in the idea of American exceptionalism, but over the years, I've done a lot of thinking on the topic. America is unique in its iconoclasm and its constant struggle for freedom, and it is the freest country in the world, free in ways that rankings cannot capture. It is also arguably the most moral major country in the world, although its treatment of the poor could certainly improve. Trump's politics are in the American tradition, and he's assembled a wonderful coalition through hope, not just anger. The people's minds, thoughts and emotions have been suppressed by both parties, who treat their constituents with contempt. Trump is freeing them, and in a way, he is already "making America great again", although probably not in the way he means when he says it.

I'm a non-white immigrant and former congressional staffer. I'm not a stereotypical Trump supporter, but I'm very close to becoming one, and there are millions of others who will do the same between now and November. Trump's campaign is not a grievance campaign for angry white men, it is a continuation of the struggles for freedom that have made America great.