U of Regina prof says 'Trumpism' has 'set a model for the future'

Today, Donald Trump becamethe 45th president of the United States.

He swept to power as a political outsider, with a vow to make America great again promisingto rip up trade deals, impose punishing tariffs, and deport millions of illegal immigrants.

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But is his approach to politics something that will linger on even after he leaves the White House?

University of Regina politics and international studies professorLee Ward joined CBC Radio'sThe Morning Edition to talk with host Sheila Coles about what he's calling "Trumpism" the idea that Trump has popularizeda new political philosophythat can be invoked and applied by others down the road.

Sheila Coles: What is Trumpism?

Lee Ward: The question [is], isthere such a thing as "Trumpism?"Or is Trump such an altogether unique candidate, running in altogether unique circumstances, that we'll never see anything like it again?Or, is there an "ism,"is there something about Trump that could be repeated? Are there patterns of behaviour that others could adopt, and could those be a path to success for them too?

I'm inclined to think there is something about Trump that isn't simply unique to him, or unique to the momentor moodwe're in right now.

SC:But moods are ephemeral. Couldn't that pass at some point, and we'd still see Trump as a kind of blip on the radar?

LW: It could, but something that Trump was able to do was form a political alliance among groups that are fairly unlikely. Voters who had voted for Obama twice in previous electionsvoted for Trump because he identified something that is powerful and unique. The question will be whether he can build on that, but I think it's more than a blip, more than ephemeral.

SC: Do you think he will continue to build what he started? How do you think he will govern in comparison to how he campaigned?

LW: I think he will govern with a similar approach. The whole aura of Trumpism is that he's a man of action, he's not a rhetorician, he doesn't speak in a polished way like Obamaor most politicians. I think he's going to govern in a way that is very symbolic, he's going to make appointments to his cabinet that are symbolic.

For instance, by appointing the former head of ExxonMobil [Rex Tillerson] as the head of the State Department, someone with no diplomatic or political experience, he was sending a message about business and the environment.

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He's going to do big, bold actions, and I think his supporters are really going to love it, and of course, his opponents are going to hate it.

SC: What makes you think that will last?

LW:It is possible that he could become very unpopular very quickly, but what I think he has done is set a pattern for future politicians to follow in the sense that he's destroyed the paradigm of the traditional politician.

I think he's changed the way campaigns are run, so even if he is unpopular and serves one term, I think he has set a model for the future that can be replicated given the circumstances of the time.

SC: Do you see this as a trend around the world?

LW: It does seem to be a response to globalization. There's an increasing potency to people's feelings of economic insecurity. I think the Brexit was an example of that.

SC: Do you see any comparisons between Kevin O'Leary, and whether we could see the same thing happening in Canada?

LW: I think it's going to be fascinating to see. It might be the first test case for Trumpism because here you have an example of someone who is clearly following Trump's example.

O'Leary doesn't have a long history of taking political positions. It's somebody who is saying, "I'm going to cash in on the same kind of celebrity status as Trump."

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We're seeing the same kind of images of O'Leary as a man of action, as a straight-talker.

Canada is very different than the United States, but we're similar in many respects too. Our media markets have been saturated by Trump, so it will be interesting to see if Trump has prepared the ground for at least a certain segment of our electorate to respond to it.