The 130-year-old theory that explains Trump and MAGA: Nobel economist (opens in new tab)

According to Krugman, “In his classic book The Theory of the Leisure Class — published in 1899, at the apogee of the Gilded Age — Thorstein Veblen famously argued that much of the behavior of his era’s elite was driven not by the desire to enjoy life but by the desire to impress others.” With this in mind, he points to Trump’s Sunday birthday cage match on the White House lawn. “The match and the events that surrounded it — especially the press conference with UFC fighters, shown above, held ...