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A large crowd had gathered at a grandiose building near 57th street in Manhattan for a momentous occasion. As the audience milled through the lobby, they pondered the precarious state of the country. Ever since the bank crash, America had been on the decline. The rich and powerful stuffed their faces while the rest of the country suffered. The politicians had made big promises; but were totally out of touch with the common man. But today, they were ready for a hero on a horseback, a truly strong leader, to cut the crap and begin the process of making America great again.

And what an unlikely hero he was! The 69 year old business tycoon entered the room to raucous applause. The people of New York had loved and hated him for decades. A man whose name was frequently splashed across the tabloids. His personal life was scandalous and adulterous. He had flirted with higher political office several years before, but nothing had availed of that attempt. A major media personality from a wealthy family, he frequently spewed blatant lies and untruths, and possessed an ego of gigantic proportions. He dwelt in a glitzy and elaborate habitation that he deemed to be the best in the world. He often boasted of his prominence and power, and was contemptuous of those beneath him. He was an unlikely champion for the common man. But the crowd knew that he was Their Man.

“Our country is serious trouble,” the mogul began. “We don’t have victories anymore. We used to have victories, but we don’t have them.”

The mogul, knowing the inclinations of his audience and the general public, then launched into a vicious racist tirade. “ The U.S has become a dumping ground for everyone else’s problems,” he cried with passion. “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people who have lots of problems, and they’re bringing their problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” The mogul sought to stoke the deep racial resentments that had long underlaid the politics of his political party.

He then turned his attention to the economy. “ Last quarter, it was just announced that our gross domestic product- a sign of strength, right? But not for us. It was below zero… And our real unemployment is anywhere from 18 to 20 percent.”

“Our enemies are getting stronger and stronger by the day, and we as a country are getting weaker… So ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for President of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.”

“ I will be the greatest jobs president God ever created. I tell you that.” The crowd roared with particularly loud approval; the mogul waited before continuing.

The mogul continued his rambling speech for several minutes, before declaring that the American dream was dead. But he would bring it back, make America even greater than before.

The political elite had never taken his political aspirations seriously. Sure, he made the tabloids, and appealed to the lowest common denominator, but the man was so tyrannical and unlikeable. Surely only the most foolish and gullible of Americans would support him, and even then there was no way he could possibly win.

They didn’t realize they were facing a populist threat that could threaten to destroy the political system, and possibly even the republic itself.

In 1932, William Randolph Hearst would overturn the established order of the Democratic Party and reshape the country.
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