How conspiracy theories helped power Trump’s disruptive politics

We watched over the past year as a wave of conspiracy theories infected our national discourse. Election results were questioned, candidates were accused of subversion, and America’s political and economic systems were deemed “rigged.” Donald Trump overcame a party system designed to promote consensus candidates to secure the Republican nomination and then win the Electoral College, while trafficking in conspiracy theories consisting of pseudoscientific claims, exaggerations, and outright lies. Why did this happen?

Trump, as a disruptive candidate, could not compete on the party establishment’s playing field. Trump had never held office and espoused policy views that transcended the mainstream party alignment. He was not the preferred candidate of Republican elites, and he received relatively few endorsements. To be successful, he’s had to construct a rhetorical style that mobilized support outside of the party’s mainstream.

Trump’s solution is what we call “conspiracy theory politics.” High-profile politicians who advocate conspiracy theories are typically jeered by the mainstream media and the party establishments. But Trump was not interested in the conventional path to power. Instead, he used conspiracy theories to practice the politics of disruption, and succeeded in building a coalition of support among myriad unconventional ideological groups located outside the traditional political party networks.

Trump’s use of conspiracy theory politics proved to be a particularly ingenious form of populism. By focusing his populist appeals on conspiracy rhetoric — rather than substantive policy — Trump galvanized the broad support needed to overcome the party establishment. His conspiracy rhetoric boiled down to a single unifying claim: Political elites have abandoned the interests of regular Americans in favor of foreign interests. For Trump, the political system was corrupt and the establishment could not be trusted. It followed, then, that only a disruptor could stop the corruption.

Trump’s conspiracy theories delivered an unconventional political appeal that effectively engaged groups outside of the party’s mainstream. By using conspiracy theories, Trump succeeded in mobilizing a group of people for whom his utter lack of knowledge and experience was a virtue and for whom Jeb Bush’s experience and party support were viewed as defects.

Disdain for elites is the common thread uniting the diverse conservative groups outside the Republican establishment. Trump’s continued support among these groups is due to his continued practice of the politics of disruption even upon taking office. Trump now has the challenge faced by all leaders who have come to power using disruption to build their coalition of support: The coalition that brought you to power is not a coalition you can use to govern.

The decision Trump must now make is whether he wants to build the governing coalition that will enable him to accomplish some of his policy goals or whether he will continue to practice the style of politics he has mastered — disruptive politics — and forgo the prospect of significant policy accomplishments.

Matthew D. Atkinson is an assistant professor of political science at Long Beach City College.

Darin DeWitt is an assistant professor of political science at California State University Long Beach.

Joseph E. Uscinski is an associate professor of political science at University of Miami and co-author of American Conspiracy Theories.