US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory at the polls caught the majority of observers off-guard, although a cool-headed analysis of the result shows that Trump’s rise to power was primarily driven by a backlash from disadvantaged white and middle-class Americans against the mainstream elite, which centered on issues such as globalization and free trade.
A political novice, Trump’s brand of “nativism” runs contrary to the doctrine of economic integration with China espoused by the pro-China camp in Taiwan. Since the US election, Taiwan’s pan-blue media have described Trump as a “madman,” a “clown” and “unpredictable.”
