John McWhorter and I have been asking ourselves whether Trump’s election indicates a major shift in American politics, and if so, what kind. I’m not necessarily talking about the effect of Trump the man, but of what his election—and who voted for him—might indicate about the country’s direction. Terms like “conservative” and “liberal,” once elastic enough to bind together relatively heterogeneous groups, have snapped. What do you call someone who wants to redistribute more wealth to married couples with children, vehemently opposes American military intervention abroad, and belongs to a labor union? You could easily see such a person voting for Trump, but it would seem strange to call her a conservative, at least in the traditional sense.
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