Note that pretense of reluctance: Trump would rather be guided by his better angels, of course, but ultimately he must rely on that common sense we all share. It’s an effective rhetorical strategy, calling for religious or ethnic stereotyping under the cover of grudging rationalism.
During his first term, Trump invoked common sense to justify all manner of positions. Mere profiling of Muslims was soon insufficient; now the United States should turn away people seeking to enter the country from several Muslim-majority nations. “Some things are law, and some things are common sense,” the president said. “This is common sense.” When Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s second Supreme Court nominee, faced accusations of sexual misconduct, Trump asserted that “Due Process, Fairness, and Common Sense are now on trial!” And at a rally days before the 2018 midterms, Trump made common sense an all-purpose rationale: “This will be the election of Kavanaugh, the caravans, law and order, tax cuts, and common sense. Common sense.”
That echo was more than a tic; it rendered common sense a summation of all that came before, and a pretext for whatever flies under the banner of Trumpism. Including, as became apparent by end of his first term, political violence.
Perhaps Trump’s most egregious use of the term came when, in an interview with Jonathan Karl of ABC News, he looked back on the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Reminded that some of his supporters had chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” that day, Trump offered his default explanation. “Because it’s common sense, Jon,” he said. “It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you — if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? — how can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress?”
When a mob’s fantasy of executing a sitting vice president is cast as a suitable response to manufactured grievance, when violent outrage over a legitimate vote is just another entry in the common-sense canon, then there is scant difference between common sense and nonsense. But that is the common sense that Trump promotes: an assortment of popular policies, culture-war scapegoating, sanctioning violence and antidemocratic impulses. Different aspects may appeal to different audiences, but together they stoke Trump’s base, expand his support, intimidate his opponents and augment his power.
