People who feel lost and disaffected would rather see the whole thing burn down than continue with the status quo even if it is objectively worse for them.

And its clearly been building for a while. Trump and Obama are about as opposite as possible, but they both won by campaigning on "change".

This is true in most political systems. Its how most revolutions start. The commoner is always screwed but they still support them.

I dont think america is all that exceptional. All sides just see it through their filter bubble and miss the forest for the trees.