At a campaign event in the state of Wisconsin a few days before yesterday’s US presidential election, former US President and current President-elect Donald Trump expressed his displeasure about a defective microphone: “I get so angry. I’m seething up here. I’m seething. I’m busting my ass with this stupid microphone.”

The situation was so infuriating, in fact, that it elicited the additional comment from Trump: “Do you want to see me beat the hell out of those people backstage?”

Now there is no doubt that Trump is a very angry person; Just look at everything he has ever said about his ever-present enemies, be they Democrats, immigrants, members of the “radical left” — or microphones. And as his self-described “great win” against his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris in this election shows, many Americans are angry too.

Although billionaire Trump is obviously part of America’s financial super-elite, he has persuaded a large section of the domestic working class to see him as a savior from their economic misery in a plutocratic system of which he is an integral part. The outraged plea to “Make America Great Again” willfully ignores the fact that there has never been anything great about a nation founded on mass socioeconomic inequality and in which Republicans and Democrats alike perpetuate plutocracy under the guise of democracy.

Trump’s first campaign as president resulted in him passing tax cuts for – who else? – other rich people. And yet many voters see him as the only candidate willing to restore the dignity of people whose financial suffering is a direct result of the same capitalist arrangement that enables Trump’s success.

Of course, anger is a practical antidote to feelings of powerlessness, and Trump is perfectly capable of channeling public discontent to his advantage. Xenophobia is an ever-useful weapon in this regard, and so-called “border security” was a central theme of this year’s vote – Trump promised mass deportations and bragged about his trademark propaganda about Democrats’ supposed support for a disease-ridden, pet-eating United States criminal migrant hordes.

Of course, there are many reasons to be angry — even “seething,” to use Trump’s phrase — about the state of U.S. affairs under the outgoing Joe Biden administration, in which Harris serves as vice president. Complicity in the Israeli genocide in Palestine comes to mind – and in particular the fact that the US sees nothing wrong with sending tons of weapons and billions of dollars in support to the Israeli military to slaughter Palestinians en masse while millions of Americans unable to afford shelter and accommodation, healthcare or food.

But hey, that’s capitalism for you.

Meanwhile, the acceptance of Trump as a figure outside the traditional system of elite politics – someone who can, if you will, “beat people to death behind the scenes” – is only made easier by condescending comments from certain Democratic leaders. For example, during a speech on Harris’ behalf last month, former US President Barack Obama lectured black men that supporting Trump implied a sexist rejection of Harris: “You’re thinking about sitting out or supporting someone who in the past has always “You because you think that’s a sign of strength, because that’s what it means to be a man?” Degrading women? This is unacceptable.”

But there are reasons other than misogyny not to vote for California’s former “top cop.” And being scolded like a child is also known to cause anger.

In a 2022 article for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Economic and Policy Research, economist Dean Baker attempted to explain “the anger of Trump supporters” — and how it came to be that a “vast majority “The non-college-educated whites (particularly white men) are willing to follow Donald Trump over any cliff.”

Baker pointed out that less educated members of the U.S. workforce have fared poorly over the past four decades, even in the face of relatively healthy economic growth, and noted that this was because those responsible for directing economic policy , “consciously designed it in such a way that it benefited people”. they like themselves and screw over workers with less education.”

This is, of course, par for the course in a plutocracy. But Baker further speculated that one reason the penalty agreement was attributed to Democrats was because “the people who benefit from these policies and then go straight out and spread the nonsense that upward redistribution is just the natural workings of the market.” , are predominantly associated with the Democratic Party.” However, this is not to discount the Republican Party’s role in harmful political decisions, which was “not better, but often worse.”

And while “the anger of Trump supporters” may have driven this year’s election, there are a lot of things to be angry about.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial stance of Al Jazeera.