Opinion: Trump, surrounding himself with orthodox Republicans, has fooled Rust Belt voters

To the editor: Doyle McManus nicely sums up the methods to President-elect Donald Trump’s madness. (“Forget populism — Trump’s picking orthodox Republicans,” Opinion, Dec. 7)

After Trump’s populist front propelled him to election, he has opted for cabinet members bent on serving plutocratic interests. So how might he appease the populist throngs who voted against their own interests to elect him? With unabated pompous grandstanding, of course.

Trump’s overall game plan is nothing new. The president-elect’s playbook deftly employs the cynical populist anti-elitist strategies probed by Thomas Frank in his book, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?,” published during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Where Trump prevailed by flipping upper midwestern states from blue to red, McManus’ superb column may well inspire a sequel to Frank’s iconic tome: “What’s the Matter with the Rust Belt?”

Nancy Stone, Santa Monica

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To the editor: McManus’ implicit assurance that one need not worry about a Trump presidency is only valid from the perspective of mainstream conservatism. In fact, it is not clear whether the essay is even meant at face value or as sarcasm.

When it comes to Trump fulfilling his promises to his working-class voters, McManus credits him with offering “a series of grand gestures.” This skims over Trump’s apparent intention to break crucial promises to the working class, without which he would never have been elected.

For example, candidate Trump assured Americans that Social Security and Medicare would be preserved. Yet if he leaves policy-making on these issues to the likes of House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), his nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services, both of these popular programs will be privatized into a shadow of what they are now.

Cyril Barnert, Los Angeles

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