I'm not sure that it is. The author even writes, "But it would also make me rational, voting if not in my economic self-interest then at least in my emotional self-interest."
We all are. I'll let you know when he's in London. Droid should come too. Party atmosphere.
I think this is stretching the word "rational" to breaking point. Some people have voted for Trump in large part because they think he's going to stand up to a Jewish plot to eradicated the white race from North America. You can say they're acting in "emotional self-interest", sure, but it can hardly be called "rational" since it's based on an obviously delusional belief.
Maybe in that case, but it's not delusional to imagine that the Democrats are looking forward to a time when demographic changes have rendered the votes -- and therefore the interests -- of the white working class superfluous. (That thesis doesn't look quite so certain now, as discussed by Sean Trende here, in the aftermath of Trump's success, but it has been a popular idea for the last decade or more and is reflected in the contemporary preference for identity over class-based politics.) Given that the Democrats have abandoned those who were previously among their core constituents (for a new coalition, made up, as described by Lawrence Summers, of "the cosmopolitan élite and diversity"), it's hardly irrational for those same constituents to look elsewhere.
But the choice isn't only between the Democrats and the Republicans. There is also a third option: reject both and elect Trump.
I think this is applicable to rhetoric rather than policy insofar as Democrat policies benefit the white working class (a lot of the time for very little electoral gain).
preference for identity over class-based politics
VICE: Well... maybe everyone wants to talk to you because you're flashy, and you... tweet pictures of ovens at people, and you've figured out how to manipulate people -- like journalists' fixation on Twitter.
SPENCER: That just seems to be saying what I said... [Y]ou're using your... snarky words, like, "Tweet pictures of ovens or whatever". But... yeah, they want to see us because we're flashy. That means... we understand PR. We understand how to talk, and manipulate journalists. I guess I'm doing that to you right now.