What I haven’t seen noted as much is that his imaginary dystopia seems to be, in large part, a pastiche assembled from past episodes of dysfunction. These episodes apparently became lodged in his brain, and perhaps because he’s someone who is not known for being interested in the details and who lives in a bubble of wealth and privilege, they never left.

This is probably true but it’s also a matter of what events are making popular news. I (like others I suspect) was aware of Detroit’s struggles from news coverage. But I was unaware that Detroit apparently now is on the rebound until I read this article. That sort of thing hasn’t made national news coverage. So I’m not sure it’s as simple as “Trump is unmoored in time” though I think that is partially true. I can’t help but observe that these anachronistic points that Trump is bringing forth all serve his narrative so I believe that at least some of this is deliberate.