2016 saw rise of populist outsiders. 2020 is showing limits of their appeal.

History, it appeared, was poised to repeat itself.

A political outsider with a simple, compelling message and the ability to draw huge, sign-waving crowds had taken the nation by storm. A populist cry of “us against them,” the little guy versus the elites, fueled the palpable concern of party regulars. 

Four years ago, it was Donald Trump who fomented a political revolution, took over the Republican Party, and captured the White House. Today, Bernie Sanders is seeking to do the same, from the left, to the Democrats. 

But 2020 is not 2016, and on Super Tuesday, Senator Sanders’ momentum hit a brick wall. Paradoxically, it may be President Trump’s success – at least in upending many of the norms of governance and public life – that hurt the democratic socialist senator’s cause, even as the same norm-busting mentality has energized the Sanders-loving left.