Trump, if you're a populist, put your political capital where your mouth is

Bloomberg says that Trump is a populist. I've run into many people in conservative social media who believe this about Trump. On the other hand, Robert Shrum at Politico says without equivocation, that Trump is most definitely not a populist and that Trump just acted like one to get elected.

In that Bloomberg article mentioned above, Jan-Werner Mueller seems to offer some insight into whether Trump is a populist or not. Mueller notes that in Trump's inaugural address, he said in so many words, "If I rule, the people rule". Most of the Bloomberg interview with Mueller is basically splitting hairs about what a populist is and whether or not Trump is truly populist, but it does fairly raise the question of Trump's motivation for acting as he has.

The word "populism" as defined by several dictionaries means:

Support for the concerns of ordinary people.

I find it hard to believe that Trump is a populist when he staffs his cabinet head positions with billionaires. The doesn't speak to the ordinary people who might actually have to work for a living now, does it?

But if Trump is truly a populist, I think I have a pretty good test of his sincerity. If Trump is a populist, then he should have no problem working with Congress and Larry Lessig, the man who proposed The Citizen Equality Act in this video and during his brief presidential campaign last year. Larry Lessig is a Harvard Law professor, so I believe he would be up to the task of writing draft legislation for Congress, and promoting it with Trump.

The Citizens Equality Act, as described by Lessig, would go a long way to giving the people a real voice in Congress, such that the concerns of ordinary people might actually be heard by members of Congress.

What is the Citizen Equality Act? You might recall how I wrote of the Citizen Equality Act some months ago, right here on Steemit. You can find the original article here.

The Citizen Equality Act would provide for:

1. Equal freedom to vote. Strike down often-racist voter ID laws and allow all Americans to vote freely.
2. Equal representation. End the crazy gerrymandering that let's politicians pick their own districts and makes elections non-competitive.
3. Citizen funding of elections. Reduce big-money influence with public matching funds that makes a $100 donation from a teacher just as valuable as a $700 donation from a lobbyist.

To anybody reading this that is familiar with the composition of our current Congress, it would never pass with an ordinary president. But Trump is no ordinary president. Trump is a master at working the media and getting attention. It seems to me that his sole reason for living is getting attention.

Trump is also an expert at embarrassing his opposition. If Trump truly supports the concerns of ordinary people, then he would have very little difficulty showing the hypocrisy of any opposition to the Citizen Equality Act.

So, against the din of everything else that is being thrown at you, Donald Trump, I offer this challenge:

If you are truly a populist President, then work with Congress and Mr. Lessig, to craft and pass the Citizen Equality Act so that the will of the people may once again be heard by Congress. Prove to us that you live and breathe genuine support for the concerns of ordinary people by signing The Citizen Equality Act before the end of your term as president.

I hope that you accept this challenge, Mr. President. You have 1181 days left. To make it easy to find Mr. Lessig, here is his Twitter account, sir.