The most basic and telling definition of populism: a lan­guage whose speakers conceive of ordinary people as a noble assemblage not bounded narrowly by class, view their elite opponents as self-serving and undemo­cratic, and seek to mobilize the former against the latter.

Pop­ulist speakers in the United States voiced a profound outrage with elites who ignored, corrupted, and/or betrayed the core ideal of American democracy: rule by the common people who expected their fellow citizens to advance by diligence, practical intelligence, and a faith in God alone. There have, of course, been pop­ulisms in the history of other nations — movements and political figures that consis­tently expressed the belief that “virtue resides in the simple people, who are the overwhelming majority, and in their collective traditions.” But populism in the United States has made the unique claim that the powers that be are transgressing the nation’s founding creed, which every permanent resident should honor. In this sense, American populism binds even as it divides.

First, populists claim, an honest leader — one who shares the pure outlook of the people and is willing to fight on their behalf — needs to win high office. And second, once this honest leader is in charge, he needs to abolish the institutional roadblocks that might stop him from carrying out the will of the people.