Have liberals learned nothing from the 2016 election, asks Joseph Wulfsohn. Their hysterical
demonisation of Donald Trump before that poll conspicuously failed to win them new supporters.
Instead, it just had the effect of motivating Trump’s base, who turned their vote “into a giant middle
finger to the establishment and the elites”. Yet liberals are now making exactly the same mistake
again. At the recent Tony Awards ceremony, Robert De Niro won cheers and a standing ovation
from the assembled celebrities when he walked on stage and declared: “I’m gonna say one thing…
F**k Trump!” Days before, the talk show host and comedian Bill Maher said he was desperately
hoping for a recession because that would stop Trump winning a second term. TV host Samantha
Bee, meanwhile, launched into a tirade on her show, during which she called Ivanka Trump a
“feckless c**t”. This personalised abuse really isn’t helpful. Liberals need to promote an agenda that
unites Americans, not one that just stirs up more partisan rage and makes them look out of touch
with ordinary people. “Until Hollywood, Democrats and the media empathise with Middle America
instead of ostracising them, they might as well pave the way to Trump’s re-election.”
