Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of Britain, described that creed well in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute. The traits Trump embodies are narcissism, not humility; combativeness, not love; the sanctification of the rich and blindness toward the poor. As other relationships wither, many Americans are making partisanship the basis of their identity — their main political, ethnic and moral attachment. And the polls show that if you want to win a Republican primary these days, you have to embrace the Trump narrative, and not the old biblical one. This is like 1917, a clash of political, moral, economic and social ideologies all rolled into one.

Source: New York Times October 27, 2017 00:11 UTC