The Trump Phenomenon Will Be Hard To Reverse
The question posed here is an excellent one, even though it’s unanswerable.
I recall the first moment I became aware that Trump was being taken seriously. I called my mother and asked, “I thought that one rock solid qualification for a presidential candidate was that he needed to be regarded as a decent human being. Apparently, that changed somewhere along the line, but when?”
Of course, there was no particular moment in time. The level of hate and ignorance of the common American had evidently been growing slowly, like a cancer, completely invisible (at least to me), lying in wait for a demagogue to come along and point the finger of blame at elitist Democrats, and, the usual culprit, immigrants.
Now it’s unclear whether or not this country can put the genie back in the bottle. Trump supporters do not avail themselves of news sources that document that their leader has told 4229 lies or misleading statements in his first 558 days in office, and even if they did, would that matter? Unlikely.
Now, if the quality of life were improving for the working class American, one could argue that this was bolstering approval for Trump. But no, their real wages are falling, while billionaires are getting richer beyond their wildest dreams. Largely because the president continually makes this claim, 77% believe the mainstream media reports “fake news.”
What’s more, Trump may be in a position to throttle the Mueller investigation, and, with his hand-picked Supreme Count, ward off attempts to remove him from office.
The demise of American democracy may be just as irreversible as toothpaste squeezed from the tube.
That’s terrible! What lead people to be this way? Did Trump change them, or did they always believe that and just waited in silence for someone to agree with them?
Craig and Susan,
The big difference is the illusion of American Presidents as model ‘International Statesmen’, has ended.
In reality, all Presidents were a combination of greatness and venality. President Trump is simply the most overt and the lest conscious of maintaining a “public image”.
President Trump presides over a very different America than his predecessors. The rise of new post-cold war power blocks, the decay of US economic power and the sudden phenomenon of social media, have all dramatically altered the dynamics of the nation and the prestige of the Presidency itself.
The old elite “professional ” political class is tearing itself apart along with the traditional media. Obama was the last of the old political elite. President Obama worked hard, and probably sincerely, to maintain an illusion he inherited, (and which never really existed). By the time he was elected, even the trappings of the illusion had faded and became increasingly difficult to maintain.
Obama’s election was a victory in itself,not a revolution, but a recognition that a very urbane, sophisticated, mixed race person could join the elite if he could assist in maintaining the elitist illusion.
His presidency was marked with idealism and some accomplishment, but ultimately his presidency will be judged a failure. Already it’s remembered as a time when symbolic style and weakness triumphed over substance and astute judgement.
History may judge President Obama a little unfairly. He became President at a difficult time for America. In many ways he did his best, but in the end the Herculean task overwhelmed his administration.
In contrast, Hillary Clinton was just too real ! Her naked and ruthless ambition, her contempt for those whom she despised,her coterie of arrogant elitists, along with her steadfast determination to ignore the monumental changes taking place in society, led to the political extinction of an otherwise immensely talented American politician.
Perhaps the answer to Obama’s question can be found in his own Presidency. President Obama should examine the attitude of his own regime toward the “deplorables” who felt neglected, ignored, oppressed and abused during his presidency.
These are the people who suffered along with the families and communities so a smugly eloquent, sanctimonious,self indulgent President could attend international gatherings of fellow elitists in grand symbolic gestures, while the US worker had his pockets picked by foreign powers with the naive permission of their own President !
There’s a more than a touch of King Louis XV1 about Obama !
The changes occurring during the Trump Presidency will be profound and irreversible. Trump is both the herald and the product of a new era. His political inexperience, awkward and difficult personality are a throwback to and older style of frontier public political life, yet his policy initiatives and international tactics are proving calculated, astute and effective.
President Trump has no desire to “Americanize’ the world ! He embodies no deep geo-political ideal, adheres to no ideological philosophy. President Trump is no crusader as the “Leader of the Free World”.
His domestic policies are aimed at boosting the independence and prosperity of Americans, especially those left behind in the “old economy”.
It’s ridiculous for desperate critics to claim the American blue collar worker is worse off as a result of Trump’s election. Millions of American workers have found the President’s message of hope and optimism, has translated into jobs and prosperity.
So far, his economic measure are working.
His foreign policies are also yielding results. The President has effectively strengthened frontline nations like Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Finland, Estonia and Latvia against undue Russian influence, while maintaining pressure on Iran.
He’s managed to scare NATO into agreeing to play a bigger role in its own defense and reducing the need for America to pay vast sums to defend Europeans, a job they should be doing themselves.
His policies toward the difficult North Korean rogue State are so far yielding positive results.
Even his policies toward the nation he regards as the greatest competitor and threat to America,the Peoples Republic of China, are yielding fruit. The president’s Carrot and Stick style of diplomacy seems to be forging a new, more equitable trading relationship, even if the Dragon is a far more patient and formidable enemy than any America has previously encountered.
Cometh the hour, commeth the man ! Like LBJ, and Nixon, President Trump is a combination of astute cunning and national vision, along with deep personality flaws and faults.
LBJ came just at the right time for the American civil rights movement, but his personal life and morality make Trump look like a choir boy !
As the era progresses, the Trump presidency will pass into history, but the changes will continue.