The 2016 U.S. presidential election demonstrated the resilience of anti-intellectualism in America. An instinctive, erratic and anti-intellectual Trump defeated a cautious and analytic Hillary Clinton. Trump owes his victory, to a great extent, to the support of the white working class during the Republican primaries. The overall economic, social and cultural status of the white working class has declined considerably in recent decades. As a result, they lost trust in the established system and traditional elites, and they hoped that an outsider like Trump could shake up the establishment. However, the support for Trump was not a rational choice. Trump’s policies will more likely aggravate the problem of inequality in American society and his impulsive governing style has caused great uncertainties and chaos in decision-making and policies. Moreover, in order to retain the support of certain white voters, he was ambivalent on racism and that attitude is historically reactionary. Trumpism will go down in history as a symbol of anti-intellectualism in American politics.