A few weeks ago I had lunch at Manhattan’s 21 Club with a Texas-based friend who runs a successful hotel group. Before the meal, I had assumed that this man — whom I shall call Frank — was supporting Jeb Bush in the Republican nominations. Frank is a sophisticated business player who understands the power of markets and globalisation; indeed, he is an immigrant himself, having arrived in the US from Europe several decades ago, and he employs Mexicans (and other immigrants) in his hotels.
My assumption turned out to be wrong. “I used to like Bush but I have now decided to support Trump,” Frank told me. “Quite a lot of my friends feel the same. Maybe you are a bit surprised?”
“Stunned” might have been a better word — and one that observers are tossing around a great deal right now, as America’s political race hots up. Until recently, the type of people who dine in swanky Manhattan restaurants tended to dismiss Donald Trump as a joke; his angry, populist campaign slogans were so inflammatory that they seemed unlikely to gain wide appeal.