'Tapestry of resentment': Experts say Trump campaign survives scandal because of one skill

The success of former President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign despite an unlikable running mate, a criminal conviction, million-dollar rulings on sex abuse and fraud, comments belittling Medal of Honor recipients, accusations of a physical fight at Arlington National Cemetery and an ongoing federal court case stemming from his attempt to overturn the 2020 election is not surprising once voters consider his one unique skill, a slate of experts told the New York Times.

Columnist Thomas Edsall on Wednesday set out to solve what he called the "mystery of 2024: How is it possible that Donald Trump has a reasonable chance of winning the presidency despite all that voters now know about him?" and found an alarming answer.

"Trump has remained a powerful, if not dominant, political figure by weaving together a tapestry of resentment and victimhood," wrote Edsall. "The real glue holding his coalition together is arguably racial animus and general resentment toward minorities."

Racism overpowers any hesitancy voters may have about Trump's various character flaws, among them "mendacity, duplicity, depravity, hypocrisy and venality," political experts told Edsall.

Michael Bang Petersen, a political scientist at Denmark’s Aarhus University, told Edsall the process begins with an aggressive public demeanor and a willingness to break rules that appeals to insecure people.

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"People who feel anger and feel threatened reach out to dominant politicians who are willing to act in aggressive and transgressive ways," Petersen told Edsall. "Our own research on extreme antipathy toward the political system — what we term a need for chaos — shows that such emotions are rooted in feelings of loneliness and being stuck in your place in the social hierarchy."

Edsall leaps on the phrase "need for chaos" which Petersen's research links back to frustration among traditionally privileged groups — or white men, whom the columnist describes as the "core Trump constituency."

"White men react more aggressively than any other group to perceived status challenges," Petersen wrote in another paper on the issue. "While white men do not feel highly status-challenged on average, they are more likely to seek chaos when they do."

Edsall suggests that after Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) lost the 2012 presidential election to Barack Obama, Republican Party leadership decided to seek a more diverse base and, in doing so, gave Trump a philosophy to challenge.

"Elites lost control of the base right there" he wrote, "but bear in mind that Republican appeals on race, gender and sexual orientation were responsible for creating that base."

A recent political science report “Activating Animus: the Uniquely Social Roots of Trump Support" suggests the former president united people who hate four specific groups: "African Americans, Hispanics, Muslims and gays and lesbians.”

"People who felt strong animosity toward Blacks, Hispanics, Muslims and L.G.B.T. people were significantly more likely to be fond of Trump," the authors wrote. "This research reveals a wellspring of animus against marginalized groups in the United States that can be harnessed and activated for political gain."