TV chef Anthony Bourdain says liberals' contempt of rural residents led to Trump's victory

President Obama and Anthony Bourdain taping an episode
of CNN’s “Parts Unknown” series in Hanoi. (CNN photo)

Privileged Eastern liberals living in political bubbles are to blame for the rural uprising that lifted Donald Trump to a presidential victory, television chef Anthony Bourdain of CNN said in an interview with Reason, a monthly libertarian magazine.

Bourdain told Alexander Bisley, "The utter contempt with which privileged Eastern liberals such as myself discuss red-state, gun-country, working-class America as ridiculous and morons and rubes is largely responsible for the upswell of rage and contempt and desire to pull down the temple that we're seeing now."

"I've spent a lot of time in gun-country, God-fearing America," Bourdain said. "There are a hell of a lot of nice people out there, who are doing what everyone else in this world is trying to do: the best they can to get by, and take care of themselves and the people they love. When we deny them their basic humanity and legitimacy of their views, however different they may be than ours, when we mock them at every turn, and treat them with contempt, we do no one any good."

"Nothing nauseates me more than preaching to the converted," he said. "The self-congratulatory tone of the privileged left—just repeating and repeating and repeating the outrages of the opposition—this does not win hearts and minds. It doesn't change anyone's opinions. It only solidifies them, and makes things worse for all of us. We should be breaking bread with each other, and finding common ground whenever possible. I fear that is not at all what we've done." (Read more)