I'm sorry for posting in an old thread, but I just found the article you've linked to interesting.
I recently watched American Horror Story (which season, I don't remember), and it involved the election of Trump. Unsurprisingly, it also invoked the left vs right debacle, but with a different angle. The far, extreme right was equated to a cult. In fact, there was a cult in this season. A cult founded on misogyny and fear. The cult spreads fear and wrecks havoc only to have the opportunity to address these crimes from the political platform (the cult leader is an elected official). In short, when a people fears its safety and imagines the "other" to be the root cause of most of its problems, people like Trump will find it easier to emerge.
It is quite a generalization, of course, but just thought I'd share.
Sorry for the long post, and if this seems all over the place. Would have liked more time, so I could have made more sense.