I recognized that Trump articulates a very Perot like message of economic nationalism that plays much better with the GOP's Flyover Country middle class base than it does with the donor class and the three-legs-of-the-stool ideologues. I also recognized that Trump's campaign, with his message of decline and his call for restoration ("Make America Great Again"), could potentially serve as a somewhat non-ideological vehicle for anger at the ruling Regime and dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs.

Therefore, I was very pleased when I stumble upon an article soon after Trump announced, that articulated very clearly what I believed was behind the early enthusiasm for Trump. I'm going to quote at length from the article because I think it remains one of the best explanationsfor Trump's surprising success I have read to this day, and it mirrors my thoughts exactly. The article, dated 16 Jun 15 and titled "Why Donald Trump Matters" is excerpted in part below: