President Trump’s push for a border wall hints at a problem that populist leaders are facing across the Western world. After a year of setbacks, populist leaders and parties are trying to rejuvenate their fortunes by revitalizing the sense of crisis on which they thrive. But as with Mr. Trump’s demand for a border wall — which has brought a two-week government shutdown — this may say more about populism’s weakness than its strength.
Immigration and terrorism crises, which aided populism’s world-shaking rise in 2016, have waned. … The West’s populist leaders and parties have grown defensive, retreating into ever-starker messages of us-versus-them. The approach excites their most dedicated followers. But it can be risky, forcing voters to pick sides at a moment when the populist right holds declining appeal. CONT.
Max Fisher, New York Times