Because Obama said ‘Yes we can’ and then completed that sentence through his actions with ‘do nothing of substance’. Since Reagan, workers’ pay has fallen behind the wealth generated through those workers.

This has led to the biggest inequality of wealth distribution in the world.

And history shows that the people noticed. History shows that a breaking point was reached during the Obama years, because after Obama, people had so little faith in the government that they would vote for a joke candidate that promises to burn the current system down over a serious candidate that promises to guide the current system along.

The problem is that unfettered capitalism only knows one end-state: with the most wealth concentrated in the hands of the fewest people. And the unwillingness of politicians to oppose the rich and powerful is the reason people do not trust the government anymore; is the reason why capitalism in the US remains unfettered.

And history is repeating itself in all other western capitalist nations. Far-right firebrands are on the rise everywhere.