First, a scared and bigoted middle class, terrified that they are losing their political and economic security and cultural supremacy, desperately looking for easy answers and scapegoats.

Second, a greedy and ruthless, but essentially non-ideological, propertied elite, ready to exploit the former in order to expand and prolong their hegemony as long and as far as possible.

Its a classic combination, and a social partnership that has occasionally resonated over the last century. Eventually, one side or the other will dominate and the resulting dictatorship will crush the other. Trump is only the monster the two Frankensteins are creating.

So they figure they must do whatever it takes, now, in order to avoid political oblivion. You’re right. If they were stronger, they wouldn’t have to do this. If they were weaker, there would be no point. But in between, they are in a place where they feel they must act, to force a confrontation, to go for broke. And whether or not they have made this calculation correctly is irrelevant. They too, believe they are at an inflection point, a knife edge, the tip of a needle. Action, or failure to act, will have vast consequences. They feel they have no choice but to make their move now.