parties are essentially the same. There has been truth in aspects of this - which also isn't the end of the world because there are only a limited number of ways to try and tackle every issue in the world. Both parties have become more populist with the fascinating and unexpected part being how Trump et. al. tapped into the more populist extremes first and have ridden that horse harder. Today is more about the type of deeper populist wave in which we live and is evident all over the world right now. There is a reason this type of populism/nationalism has seen waves of success for hundreds of years --- it taps into a real aspect of human nature which is always swirling, just not always at the forefront depending on other factors.

I do think our primary system is being exposed as a bit of an issue in todays more extreme-driven world. But ultimately, we get the officials deserve ---- it will ultimately take more people willing to stand up and be heard.
I just don't see it as some inherent flaw in a mostly two party system. Lots of other global examples where more parties doesn't solve anything and can even be worse thinking about the type of alliances that can sometomes be required to form some acting majority.