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‘People are pissed off’: anger at the elite and the establishment is fueling this year’s midterms
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2026
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politics
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Yes, most Americans are very upset with the establishment. They just can't agree on who the establishment is.
Obviously Trump is currently the establishment since he's the one in power right now, but the irony is a lot of the people who voted for him did so because they were angry with the establishment that preceded him. So, many Americans are angry at an establishment that was meant to take on a past establishment that many other Americans had been angry with.
my fear is that this trend will splinter only the 'left half' of the vote as a significant number vote third-party from 'lack of options' or as 'punishment'; and that the 'right' will remain mostly united (as they usually do) in their hate and stupidity and greed, allowing republicants to actually gain as a result.
A large chunk of the population would rather throw out the baby with the bathwater and any attempt to tell them they're insane for thinking so is an exercise in futility.
In fairness to them, even the best of our leaders are still operating in the framework that got us here.
It’s establishments all the way down. And what do they all have in common? Being servile to capital.
Trump and maga are not the establishment. They are extreme radicals with a completely different agenda than the establishment. Their agenda is to do away with the Constitution and replace it with an authoritarian regime centered on christian nationalism and fascism--of that's not radical, what is? The fact that they managed to take over the government doesn't make them "the establishment" unless you accept that they will maintain power and thus become a new "establishment".
He is practically embedded into the capitalist oligarchy which are ruling the US. You don't get more establishment than that.
Yes, he is not part of the professional politician gang which has been used to rule, but he is definitely part of the establishment which that gang also was subservient to.
Yeah, exactly. trump is part of the class who employ the "establishment" as it is usually understood. He is literally the boss of the establishment.
I understand what you're saying, but I don't entirely agree. Trump did win the presidential nomination of one of only two established major political parties. Many Republican politicians who had been part of the US political establishment for decades are now among Trump's coalition. Trump also has the support of some established media organizations, like Fox News. I would also argue that the business establishment is largely the same as it was before Trump came into office.
It's not radical, it's reactionary
No, it's radical, dude, totally
<not a serious comment, 100% a joke based on the 80s slang>
"The establishment" is a vague and nebulous term
It's like when people say "they". And I don't mean the gender neutral pronoun, I mean when people say "they're making a new law" or "they're making a new movie" or "they're using AI to design things". The nebulous "they" that seems to encompass all governments and organizations that control things