There is no doubt that Donald Trump has taken the country by storm, defying all expectations that his candidacy would implode after the initial infatuation wore off last summer. Why Trump now?
High-paying manufacturing jobs have been in decline since the 1980's, leaving mostly white male workers who have little education unable to find comparable work. In addition, the number of middle-aged white men who are dying earlier in life has been rising over the last fifteen years.
Some say the Trump phenomenon is a backlash against President Obama by working-class men desperate to restore a racial hierarchy that favored their interests. Others say Trump is the first candidate to care about the plight of the working class.
Why the rise of Trump now? We want to hear from you.
GUESTS:
Jamelle Bouie? - Chief political correspondent for Slate Magazine
Michael Goodwin - Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, columnist for the New York Post, and commentator on Fox News and Fox Business. He's the co-author of I Koch: A Decideley Unauthorized Biography of the Mayor of New York City, Edward I. Koch
You can join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Tucker Ives and Greg Hill contributed to this show.
