On the American Political System (I)
Trump Rises Again?
D. H. Kang
THE IMMORTAL RISES AGAIN FROM THE CLUTCHES OF FEDERAL LAW and defies all expectations as he runs for his second presidency. But just how can it be that each time Trump seems to be done for, he returns bigger and stronger? With a more robust, more dedicated, more outspoken voter base,? How does he barely manage to escape impeachment, and indictment after indictment, and then be one of the favourites in the next U.S. presidential race?
Trump’s latest indictment has certainly not been his first, and unlikely his last. In a moment that shocked the world, on the 6th of January 2021, his supporters stormed the White House, a moment of peripeteia for the foreseeable future. It was this event that warned Trump’s influence was no longer limited to controversial Tweets and circulating vague rumours in the conspiracy theory underworld, but was actually something demystified and culminated in physical action. The symbol of invincibility, a metonym for the most powerful place on the planet, the White House, was raided by a moving herd of political sacrilege; a tell-tale clue that democracy itself was under threat by a monster of its own creation.
Trump’s double-edged persona, actions and charisma are exactly what makes him so hated – and so loved. Scathing articles from the left hone in on his supposedly narcissistic, impulsive and morally unscrupulous character: claims about him being a sexual predator or misogynist all stockpile as ammunition for the Democrats. But his unruly, eccentric and anti-establishment personality is also one of his most appealing attributes in the eyes of his Republican supporters. Someone willing to stand up and say things that no one else is – for fear of ‘cancel culture’ and the razor-sharp guillotine of political correctness. And hence, in some manner, he is a genius for making use of this support. Trump knows that by weaponising law enforcement, his supporters gain more and more conviction. For those under his spell, everything falls into the “false narrative of the Other”, and there is no escape. Indeed, following his third indictment, Trump subsequently wrote, “I am being arrested for you.”(referring to his supporters), feeding into an innumerable amount of conspiracy theories. Theories about the world being manipulated by an evil force in the shadows, theories about the imminent destruction of the world, and how all those who resist will perish. Theories that only Trump is willing to be that voice of justice amidst a sea of hostile gazes.
This does begin to explain why Trump’s voter base has continuously been rising, despite all that he has been through. His self-aggrandising behaviour is what appeals to those left in despair: many have been permanently rejected from the Democratic camp, exemplified when Hillary Clinton called these swing-voters and Republicans “a basket of deplorables.” And, driven by a hatred of the opposition even more so than the desire to support their own, many Republicans desire the power to upheave the political system, with many distraught from their continued disenfranchisement. By following a leader who does the unthinkable, many believe that they are able to take that power removed from them by a failing democratic system that is plagued by gerrymandering and pork barrelling. But this tempting fruit hides a self-inflicting poison named political dogma. Trump’s appeal is, without a doubt, a form of populist leadership. By exploiting the vulnerable people in our society and encouraging build-ups of aversive beliefs, the ultimate harm returns to them, not the instigator. Look at Greece, and the trail of destruction Alexis Tsipras left in his wake for the Greek economy or Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
But what does this mean for us living 15,175 kilometres away from America? Is the message to simply not follow in the polarising footsteps of America and avoid electing someone like Trump? “Well, that’s easy”, you might think, given the fact that we haven’t and probably will never have the same kind of democracy that America has. This issue, however, is not just about a country. It is about us as individuals.
We are drowned in lies, deceit, and misinformation every day. But the way out of this predicament is ironically the same way we came in. To solve our arguments, we must understand them, not avoid them. Indeed, we ought to endeavour to comprehend even the most extreme opinions to resolve conflict through good dialogue and good faith.
Our complacency is a test. We must remain vigilant. Take some time to look around you, delineate the misinformation, and puncture through its paper-thin surface.