Overview:
During the first half of this course, we examined populism as a theoretical concept, noting that despite a growing interest in populism as a political and social phenomenon, the concept remains contested, with some scholars contending that populism is a strategy, others indicating it is an ideology, and others arguing that it is a “political style.” For your midterm examination, you will examine the extent to which populism as a “political style” fits the American experience by applying the concept to the Joe Biden and Donald Trump campaigns for the 2024 presidential race.
Prompt:
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have paid particular attention to the “populist political style” as a way to determine whether or not a candidate is “performing populism”. Given your understanding of the “populist political style” and the American political system, are President Joseph Biden AND former President Donald Trump populists? Why? Why not? 1. Define the three components of the “populist political style” as detailed by Moffitt. 2. Briefly outline the behaviors associated with each of the three components of the “populist political style” (i.e., How is each component “performed”?). 3. Apply insights from the above discussion to Biden AND Trump (i.e., Are their behaviors consistent with “performing populism”?). PLEASE NOTE: you can use BOTH course resources AND current events materials to augment your analysis for this portion of the paper. While you are free to use any reputable journalistic resource, Geisel provides free access to a wide variety of reputable media sources 4. Use the above to construct your argument as to whether Biden and Trump are populists (i.e., Are Biden and Trump broadly “performing populism” Why? Why not?).