Lord of the Rings fans may remember the scene when King Théoden realizes that his stronghold in Helm's Deep will fall before the marauding Orcs and their "fierce malice" and wonders, "How did we get to this point?" After the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections, many Americans are asking the same question.
How did a convicted felon who tried to overturn the results of a presidential election he apparently lost just four years ago win the votes of more than 71 million Americans? This could happen in a country without strong democratic traditions. For example, in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez went to prison after an unsuccessful coup attempt in 1992, but six years later he was elected president of the country. It was not expected that such a thing could happen in the world's oldest and most powerful democracy.
Trump is not just a criminal. He is also a charlatan who has repeatedly demonstrated an almost complete lack of political knowledge. And a potential dictator who promised to carry out mass deportations and organize the persecution of "enemies". However, he won, not only in the Electoral College, but also in the total number of votes nationally, which he did not achieve in either 2016 or 2020.
The explanation starts with Trump supporters. The same people who condemn "vocalism" for allegedly suppressing open public dialogue also believe that it is completely unacceptable to criticize white, older, rural voters who are blindly loyal to Trump, no matter how disgusting, dangerous and capricious his behavior is. Those who justify these voters say that they do not understand who Trump is or the threat he poses, and explain that they support him because of legitimate grievances, such as economic insecurity.
This explanation is partially correct, but it is possible that something more sinister lurks in Trump's base. Many of his voters may want to see the country's institutions destroyed. They are not afraid of Trump's threats to democracy and the rule of law, on the contrary, they see him as a bulldozer for the demolition they have been waiting for so long.
Yes, Trump's voters may not want him to follow through on every threatening promise he's made. But instead of seeing that as a reason not to support him, they dismiss the inflammatory rhetoric as hyperbole. If nothing else, they reason, Trump's exaggerations prove that he is a man of the people, not just another polished politician making carefully calibrated statements coordinated by a team of political strategists. This is the simplistic logic of blind believers - it is wildly inconsistent and practically unquestionable.
Many of Trump's supporters secretly — or, increasingly, more loudly — share his worst instincts. His racism? Many white Americans are sick of talk of "white privilege" and even more sick of immigrants who supposedly cross the border to take their jobs and get tax dollars. His misogyny? Many young male voters feel undervalued or rejected by female colleagues and like the idea of reminding women where "their place" is. His threats to punish “enemies within”? The answer is self-evident: they are enemies.
Trump's supporters reject all other criticisms. Experts who warn that Trump's plans will cost the American economy dearly? They are simply unable to account for his exceptional business acumen. Those who highlight his maneuvers to enrich himself and his family (Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner raised billions from Saudi Arabia for his investment fund) exaggerate the scale and influence of those deals.
As for Trump's profanity, it's not a problem at all, and apparently not even for his evangelical supporters. Trump might perform fellatio on the microphone at a rally, but God chose him to become a modern-day Cyrus. Like the king of Persia who rescued the Jews from Babylonian slavery, Trump's divine mission is to free (white) Christians from the "prison" of modern America, and once again make that country a bastion of evangelical values. And, of course, the hand of God deflected the killer's bullet at the summer rally.
Trump was helped by many to convert voters to his debauched religion. Fox News, Rupert Murdoch's hugely profitable propaganda machine, distorted the context and fueled the outrage. Social media giants have largely (and in the case of Elon Musk's X Network) given up trying to curb misinformation.
Tech billionaires have also directly backed Trump's rise (Musk became Trump's second-biggest donor during this election campaign), hoping to benefit from the coming deregulation — Tesla's share price has already skyrocketed. Tech titans and quiet but politically powerful Wall Streeters like Jamie Dimon have become the modern American equivalent of German business leaders who believed they could control Adolf Hitler.
Trump's fellow Republicans have no such illusions, which helps explain why even those who once tried to challenge him now bow to him. The former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, offered a very strong resistance to Trump in the Republican primaries, but after dropping out of the race, she immediately endorsed him - probably to save her political career.
The cowardice of some Republican politicians helped Trump shake off the political radioactivity that would engulf him after he called on his supporters to march on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The next day, figures like Sens. Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham seemed to have finally made up their minds. to wash their hands of Trump. But just days later they refused to vote to impeach him. And when Trump began campaigning for the party's presidential nomination this year, they rushed to support him.
No one wants to fall out of favor with a dictator. And since the decision of the Supreme Court practically granted immunity from prosecution to the President of the USA, Trump will become nothing less than a dictator. If he wants to impose huge tariffs on Chinese goods, withdraw from NATO or send immigrants to camps, he will do it. The same goes for punishing anyone who tries to challenge him.
How did we get to this point? Most white Americans have lost faith in their country. Profit-seeking business elites have gained unlimited power to influence politics through their wallets and internet platforms. And Republican politicians have sacrificed their decency - and American democracy - on the altar of power.
The author is a professor of international affairs at the New School of New York University
Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2024. (translation: NR)
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