Donald Trump is often said to be a populist. True as far as it goes. He was certainly lifted to power by an underclass. He moves the masses, like the famed Argentine populist dictator Perón, but for a different purpose. Perón genuinely sought to uplift the poor, his "descasmisados," the bare-chested people, the ones who didn't wear shirts. Trump's latest crypto-bribery Oval Office stunt made it clearer than ever that, even as he charms the ignorant poor, he serves only the wealthy and himself—an elite masquerading as a savior of the common man while enacting policies that entrench oligarchic power.
Where Juan Perón used debt and state resources to uplift the Argentine working class, Trump deploys the same tools to enrich the already-rich, gut public institutions, and leave America’s lower classes more vulnerable than ever. This is Trump’s Golden Age—a descent into deprivation and imposed austerity for ordinary Americans, while billionaires live their wildest fantasies under the protective cover of nationalist theater.
The Paradox of Modern Populism
The Trump movement sells itself as a crusade for the forgotten American worker, yet its material effects consistently advantage corporations, hedge fund managers, and dynastic wealth. His 2017 tax overhaul slashed corporate tax rates and overwhelmingly favored high-income households. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the top 1% reaped nearly 20% of the total benefits. These tax cuts were recently expanded further by the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by the House in May 2025, extending deductions for capital gains and passthrough income while slashing revenue streams needed to support basic public services. Unlike Perón, who redistributed national wealth toward the working class through wage hikes and nationalizations, Trump redistributes it upward. Medicaid and SNAP are being gutted to pay for tax shelters. This isn’t a safety net; it’s a springboard for wealth extraction.
Protectionism as Propaganda
Perón embraced protectionism to cultivate domestic industries and working-class employment. Trump’s tariffs mimic the form but not the function. Rather than shielding U.S. manufacturing, they serve as symbolic weapons in a culture war. A Yale Budget Lab analysis shows that the average effective U.S. tariff rate in 2025 has surged to levels not seen since 1909. The burden of these tariffs falls on American households—not on the elites. It’s not economic sovereignty; it’s cost inflation wrapped in a flag.
Fiscal Irresponsibility as Strategy
In Argentina, Perón’s debt-fueled populism eventually drove inflation and economic collapse—but at least the working class saw short-term gains. Trump’s fiscal policy is more cynical: national debt explodes to subsidize shareholder dividends and real estate depreciation. Rather than investing in infrastructure, housing, or education, Trump’s policies deepen inequality and widen the fiscal gap. This is not populism. It’s wealth extraction under populist cover.
The Cult of Personality Without Substance
Trump, like Perón, commands a cult-like loyalty. But unlike Perón, he delivers little material improvement to his base. His rallies are performance politics—furious, nostalgic, and hollow. Real power lies not with his voters, but with the private equity billionaires and dynastic donors who fund his campaigns and shape his agenda. The American worker is a stage prop; the corporate class writes the script.
From Perón to Plutocracy
The original Peronization meant redistributing national wealth to the poor, often unsustainably. Under Trump, the term now signals the reverse: an economy weaponized for the rich, defended by a culture war that distracts and divides. This is not about national renewal—it’s about elite preservation. A gilded age masquerading as a revolution.
America, the Betrayed
Trump has delivered not a populist revival but a golden age for the plutocracy. His administration is a crowning achievement in elite deception: convincing millions that their impoverishment is patriotism. This is not the populism of bread and dignity. It is the theater of false promises and golden parachutes. If the United States is ruined economically, it will not be because it tried to help the many—but because it served the few, under the cynical flag of the common man.
Further Reading:
• MarketWatch: What’s in the GOP tax bill?
• The Guardian: Republican cuts to food and health benefits
• Yale Budget Lab: US Tariffs Report
• Wikipedia: Economic history of Argentina
• Washington Post: Trump tax and immigration bill