Ever since Richard Nixon coined the term “silent majority” in 1969, commentators have been obsessed with debating this voting bloc’s contours and character. …
The silent-majority concept is inextricably intertwined with backlash politics of the sort promoted by Trump. The concept was perhaps best explained by historian Rick Perlstein, who described the silent majority not in terms of demographics but emotion: “a feeling of dispossession,” especially in times of great change. While Democratic presidential candidates seem to think that hammering away at Trump’s incivility will damage his popularity in “middle America,” these attacks only bolster his appeal to the silent majority. This voting bloc sees such criticism as an attempt to silence Trump and, by proxy, them. CONT.
Seth Blumenthal (Boston U.), Washington Post