# Explaining the Rise of Donald Trump **URL:** **By** Ben Domenech, Trevor Burrus, Aaron Ross Powell **Published:** October 14, 2016 --- Ben Domenech joins us this week to discuss Donald J. Trump's candidacy. What is Trump doing differently? How much of a role did media coverage play in Donald Trump winning the Republican primary? Is Trump's brand of conservative populism and identity politics here to stay? Would a Trump loss in November be an opportunity for libertarians to reshape the philosophy of the American right? Ben Domenech shares his personal theory that explains Donald Trump's rise to prominence on the political stage. **Show Notes and Further Reading** Here's Domenech in 2015, [predicting the path of Donald Trump's candidacy](http://thefederalist.com/2015/08/31/donald-trump-hangs-the-elephant/) and on [the emergence of Trump's brand of identity politics](http://thefederalist.com/2015/08/21/are-republicans-for-freedom-or-white-identity-politics/).