Donald Trump says he is not in the GOP presidential nomination for his own glorification, as he speculates that without him “ratings would collapse.” Such is the dichotomy of a “populist” candidate on the Republican side of the isle who, in many respects, sounds on certain issues like the populist candidate on the Democratic side of the presidential sweepstakes, Bernie Sanders (I-VA). This can be seen most visibly in Trump’s anti-Wall Street hedge fund rhetoric, as a recent CNN report notes. Is Donald Trump mirroring sentiment from both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street? In the aftermath of 2008, there were two anti-establishment movements who had become so enraged with the financial system, and Wall Street in particular, they each struck a chord in their respective parties at a grass roots level. A key founding principle of both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street was a reaction to perceived abuses that led to the market meltdown of 2008. Rarely, if ever, in political history had both Republicans and Democrats been so enraged – and never before had the issue been so effectively covered up. Like Trump, both the Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movement were not created to promote a particular financial interest -- and both the political movements, like Trump, was categorized in some circles as operating on the fringe on the political spectrum. What isn’t fringe is the anger that a protected class of people can destroy the world economy and escape with their bonuses in-tact and have investigations into their activity blocked. In part, Donald Trump is tapping into this anger and resurrecting issues that remain... More