Why the Populist Wave that Swept Trump Into the White House May Continue Beyond November

Listen to Gary Lane's Where in the World interview with Fox News host Steve Hilton to hear why he thinks the populist movement may be here to stay

Will the populist wave that swept Donald Trump into the White House continue beyond the upcoming mid-term election, even though the president's name isn't on the ballot?

Steve Hilton, host of the Fox News show "The Next Revolution" and author of the book, Positive Populism says the trend may likely move forward because it is really a movement advanced by people from both major political parties.

"Populism isn't just a phenomenon on the Right. You see it also on the Left with Bernie Sanders and support for him in the 2016 campaign. So, I think working Americans generally want really big change," Hilton explained.

Appearing on the CBN News program "The Global Lane," Hilton said the elite still don't understand the pent-up frustration many Americans felt for years about a Washington policy agenda that advanced globalization, automation in the economy, centralization of government, and uncontrolled immigration. 

"All those things benefited the people at the top. They did really well out of it. So, their lives were great and that's why I think they missed it," said Hilton. "And they didn't understand just how angry people had gotten about the fact whether they voted Republican or Democrat nothing ever seemed to change. The rich got richer and their lives seemed to get worse."

Enter Donald Trump. He tapped into the discontent of the middle class during the 2016 presidential campaign--especially in America's Rust Belt where people were left without jobs and economic security. 

But does Trump really believe in populism, or did he just use it to win the White House and obtain power? Some people say the president is an elitist because he's a billionaire. So, how is Donald Trump different from other wealthy, powerful people?

"There's a difference between the elite and elitism. Elitism in my view is an ideology of some of the policies I was explaining--the globalism and so-on. It's a policy agenda, elitism that benefits the elite. You can be in the elite a member of it and reject elitism," Hilton explained. 

"President Trump just was at the beginning of this movement. What I'm trying to do with my book is say, okay how do we take that, that revolution, that populist revolution that was expressed in the 2016 election and turn it into a real lasting change, a real movement for change with positive ideas for how to rebuild economic security and family and community in America."

Those ideas are at the heart of positive populism, said Hilton.

He explained that politicians and a permanent bureaucracy--what is now called the 'Deep State' --hate the fact that they lost power in 2016. Many  are trying to undermine and thwart Trump's agenda and the upcoming election. Hilton said one after another, almost daily there's evidence that elitists are trying to undermine the election result.

Hilton cited some recent examples, including the anonymous Op-Ed story in the New York Times from a Trump administration official who vowed to thwart parts of the president's agenda and 'his worst inclinations.' Another example, he says, is the alleged statement of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein suggesting he would wear a wire and secretly record Donald Trump in order to invoke the 25th Amendment against him.

Despite those efforts, Hilton expects the populist wave of 2016 will advance beyond November and well into America's political and economic future.   

"You get people who understand what it is to have a policy agenda that is pro-worker, pro-family and pro-community. And people are elected all throughout our system to push those ideas forward. That's exactly what I'm hoping to happen. That this spark that happened, then actually turns into a lasting movement for the long term."