The rise of populism in U.S. politics is a direct result of a growing disparity in trust between the vast majority of the population and the global elite, public relations executive Richard Edelman told CNBC on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This gap in trust between the "informed public" — college-educated professionals with a household income in the top 25 percent for their age in their country — and the general population is now the largest ever, his eponymous communications marketing firm has found. "Donald Trump is a clear result of this mass population's dissatisfaction with the current crop of candidates," Edelman said. He believes Trump is a serious candidate, but he's also convinced that voters with less conservative views will eventually rise up and speak out against the candidate for the Republican nomination.

Trump's popularity was directly linked to "mass dissatisfaction with how they are being talked to," Edelman said.

The firm, which carries out a survey every year measuring levels of trust, linked the gulf directly to income inequality and "divergent expectations of the future." In more than two-thirds of the nations surveyed, fewer than half of the respondents said they believe they will be better off in five years.