Saul Alinsky wrote the modern blueprint for gaining political power by manipulating the masses using Machiavellian deceipt--by specifically appealing to the prejudices of the poor as well as the ignorant, creating division between classes, creating common 'external antagonists' to unite the masses against(Bush, Trump, Kony, capitalism, gun owners, etc) and creating political events or distractions that are impossible to ignore(disruptive protests, riots) in order to bring attention to their issue while creating further polarizing division on said issue. These tactics are widely practiced throughout politics and special interest lobbying. Hillary Clinton even wrote her college thesis on Rules for Radicals and Alinsky, which was kept secret during Bill's presidency.
How the Clintons hid Hillary's thesis | MSNBC
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_for_Radicals