Rubio is also trying to do this.
Rubio doesn’t stick as a true populist though, it comes off as #tryinghard. Stuff like giving out more 3,3 Billion dollars yearly to Israel goes against the nationalist economic argument that populists have, that money should be invested internally to the country citizens instead, not wasted globally.
Not that there is a perfect populist who lives by their word in the US though. But Rubio doesn’t even seem to get it in order to play the role. Hawley is a better fit and was much smarter in working together with Bernie on a specific economic topic.
Economically leftism and social conservatism are stuff that usually please nationalists who argue in the defense of the country: Strong borders and less immigration, Defense of Tradition and local Identity, More investment of money internally towards domestic public services, Less investment globally in other countries, generally anti-war unless in real emergencies threatening the country sovereignty, prioritization of local small businesses over global monopolies and therefore more protectionist, the well-being of the nation as the priority, country above everything else, etc.
US was always very far from being a nationalist country, actually it’s much closer to the exact opposite. Thing is, people usually mix up Nationalism with Patriotism, which are very different. Patriotism derived from sentiments of superiority between countries/races and can encourage militarism/imperialism since it’s about showing your power to everyone. Patriotism attention is on the exterior and in the comparison and superiority over other nations. Nationalism attentions are on the inside and the well-being of the nation and its people, regardless of what happens internationally.
Hawley fits the nationalism and populism mold much better because he seems to understand its appeal better compared to other Republicans who are mostly, trained to be very patriotic but strongly anti-nationalist.
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