I don't know. I think the Giddens from twenty or thirty years ago may have voted for Trump in a similar way that other Americans voted for him - as an act of protest. I also think he would have been disappointed in hindsight.

You're absolutely right about the inherent irony of Trump's use of the media and their use of him. In his use of the media, Trump is basically the equivalent of ISIS. Both of them know how ot use the media for their purposes and the media was happy to have them soar on the back of their wings up to a point.

For each of them, that point was different but for both it was a tipping point. Trump was anecdotal as a Republican primaries candidate and the media loved him. ISIS were a terrible phenomena but something happening halfway around the world.

It wasn't until Trump became a viable presidential candidate and Jihadist John started killing Americans that their media coverage changed, which caused a change in public opinion. This resulted in the stronger institutions of government starting to take notice. For ISIS, it was the military. For Trump, the judiciary.