Nov 6, 2024. Remember that date. It heralds in the beginning of the end – the end of the dream of American democracy. If Trumpism thrives over the next four years the USA is highly likely to emerge from his second Presidency a severely, if not terminally ill democracy, a failed Republic.
Most will blame Trump for this tragedy. It’s easy to list his many shortcomings. Many did just that (including myself) to no avail. But you can’t blame the man for being the flawed creature he is. He,obviously, sees no fault in himself. Any self-doubts he may have had disappeared when the popular vote, the Electoral College and the GOP (which now has a majority in the Senate as well as the House) all crowned him on the same day.
He will now see himself as infallible as the Pope, braver than Washington, smarter than FDR and certainly more charismatic than JFK. He’s already declared himself as great a President as Lincoln, perhaps (he muses in public) the greatest President ever. Now he will see little need to listen to any voice other than his own. He believes he truly is a singular man of destiny.
The real fault for Trump’s ascendancy lies not with the man but with those who voted for him, those who mistook his ravings a the best way of expressing their anger at a political class that’s failed to deliver to promise, the elite which failed to deliver them the American dream to which they believe they are entitled.
They voted for Trump to replace the ‘elite’, those who (they also believe) have denied them their happiness. They didn’t know much about what he’d do once in office, no one (including Trump) really did or does. His promise that he would instantly fix everything was enough. He, after all, is their man, Mr. Fix It, the miracle Wand Waverer.
The absurdity of his overpromising seemed missed by many.
A majority of Americans found it credible that he could stop both the Ukraine-Russia War and the eighty-plus year conflict between Israel and Palestinians on his first day in office …and (over the course of forty-eight months),
• stop immigration across the Mexican border AND deport illegal immigrants.
• take the rust out of the Rust Belt States by imposing big tariffs on imported manufactures while dropping the tax rate for those making things in America to 15%.
• ease the burden on taxpayers by abolishing taxes on overtime and tips.He even went on the record claiming he would abolish income tax!
• bring China into line by (1) starting a trade war with China and (2) pouring money into the Armed Services and weapon manufactures.
• trivialising the climate threat by boosting production (“drill baby ,drill”) and pulling out of the Paris Agreement (again).
• put Iran in its place.
• put NATO in its place.
• “look after all women”, “whether they like it or not”.
• grow the economy by 4%.
• repeal Obamacare.
• eliminate the Federal debt in eight years ……the list goes on and on.
Few of those voters seemed worried Trump acts reflexively, not in a considered or wise way. He has no real policies for the future, he simply reacts to situations as they arise with the aim of ‘winning’ whatever game he engages in, to beat his opponents, to prove he’s the smartest ‘negotiator’ in the room. This is an Emperor with no clothes. Yet a majority of Americans thinks, somehow, his is the path to a new golden age for America.
It’s not. It’s a path to populism, nativism, isolationism and protectionism. A fatal foursome that will, in combination, serve to weaken America both at home and abroad.
The American Constitution was designed to prevent ‘mob’ rule, populism, of the kind Trump personifies. The Founding Fathers installed many obstacles to prevent this from happening, and while hoping it wouldn’t happen they always knew that it could. Now that it has we, in other democracies, must take it as a wakeup call.
Politicians say “voters always get it right”. That’s a platitude designed to flatter the hoi polloi. Finger wagers say “voters get the governments they deserve”. Realists say a people “get the governments they vote for”.
Over the past decade+ our political class has trended in the same direction as the US. It’s on all our heads to stop this “all talk-little do” trend. That’s a job only voters can do.
Instead of letting our political class forever distract us (with faux outrage re airline upgrades, trivial misdemeanours, virtuous heart felt posturings, the light weight they attach to keeping promises, their failure to address key issues, their buying of votes, their use of scare tactics) it’s time we said NO to all this manipulative, meaningless noise.
NO, we voters are not prepared to follow you down that path to destruction. We will not let you lead us to where America now finds itself.
