COMMENT | A fascist racist will soon be US president

“As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”

- HL Mencken, political journalist writing in the 1920s and 30s

COMMENT | He is a convicted felon, was found liable for sexual assault, a habitual liar found out many times, and may have incited violence in a riot at The Capitol in Washington DC.

He also provided a platform for speakers to spew racial epithets, repeatedly used threatening language including promising to jail political opponents, promised crippling tariffs on imports, repeatedly said falsely he was denied of victory in 2020, and the list goes on ad nauseum.

But yesterday, this person, Donald Trump, won the presidential election and will become probably the vilest and most reviled president in the history of the US - certainly in modern history.

How did this loudmouth, uncouth, illogical, arrogant, ignorant, insular, swindling, cheating person become the president of the US - again - in the most powerful country and longest-standing large democracy in the world?

Not only did he win the Electoral College, he also won the popular vote. And the Republicans decisively took both houses. And no, it was not because of low voter turnout because it was close to the record levels seen in 2020.

It was a rather emphatic win, among the best for Republicans in recent times. While many had expected Trump to win, few expected him to win this strongly.

A charismatic demagogue

Kamala Harris’ lack of campaign focus and her vilifying of Trump at every turn while lacking detail in her own story for the US and what she would do may have had some impact. But that did not seem to account for the sheer scale of the move to Trump. Something much more base, basic, and primal must have been at play.

For white middle-class conservative America, Kamala’s incessant harping on women’s bodies and abortion rights may have grated especially in the highly conservative bible belt in the Midwest.

At the same time, there are many who feel that Christian values are under attack. 

At a time when the slow sinking feeling is that America is slipping from world dominance and domestic pride, Trump, much like Hitler a hundred years ago, offered a cause, solution, and mixed in prejudice, the fiery ingredients to their brand of campaigning.

Migrants were the cause. The sense of entitlement among them and how much the government bent backwards to help them were the problems. Notwithstanding that they worked hard for a pittance, providing cheap labour at exploitative wages and were often running away from repressive conditions and regimes.

It seemed that the Statue of Liberty, the symbol of succour for displaced, disenfranchised people everywhere was not for them, those of a different colour.

“Garbage and pet eaters”, Trump and his supporters lied about these people. They sent their prisoners and murderers here, he raged. What a load of rubbish.

His rallies were hate machines against migrants and foreign countries who were taking away jobs from Americans, he and his supporters said. This had to be stopped. So he will propose tariffs against foreign goods, especially China - it may be up to 50 percent.

Built on these lies, his rallies whipped up a cult-like frenzy and more and more people bought into it. Much like Hitler in the 1920s and 30s, he gave hope to desperate people, a white underclass suffering from rising prices and stagnating wages.

Hitler blamed it on Jews and communists, Trump blamed the immigrants and foreign countries. Hitler said he would make Germany great again, Trump promised to “make America great again”.

That slogan struck a chord and eventually the music moved a majority of American voters to vote for him. As Mencken says, “…the Whitehouse will be adorned by a downright moron”. We can add to that “misogynistic, racist, and fascist moron”.

It was false, but they bought that racist, fascist argument, not just white lower and middle-class America but even some blacks and Latinos.

A win for big money, conservatives

Businesses and business people such as Elon Musk, who tweeted false messages through his X platform, which were read an estimated two billion times, put their shoulder to the Trump wheel.

They will be rewarded for their support. Trump, a billionaire, will treat himself and his fellow rich to further tax cuts while at the same time chipping at the foundation that provides support to the huge amount of American poor when they cut health, education, and social benefits and facilities. 

With Republicans controlling both houses, Trump will go on a rampage. The already conservative Supreme Court will be made even more so, an influence that may last decades and make any subsequent reversal painful and slow.

Trump will change civil servants who refuse him and replace them with those who will do his bidding and he will do a thousand other things. With no checks and balances, America may burn.

Woe for Gaza, rest of the world

On the foreign front, Trump will stand aside and watch Gaza burn more than ever before and give Israel every opportunity to get everything it wants and more. Not just Gaza but Lebanon will burn.

And will there be a further misadventure with Iran? Possible nuclear misadventures with North Korea or Russia? Will he give up on Ukraine?

Trump is an unstable, unsavoury character and very volatile - not someone you can trust to handle a nuclear arsenal which can destroy the world several times.

And the world will burn too because Trump does not believe in climate change and therefore environmental carnage will continue unabated. He will withdraw from more agreements over these and preach to the experts on the environment.

But of course, Trump is no scientist. Worse, he does not have either the sensibility or humility to use those who know, a dangerous man indeed.

And trade and finance will burn too. Sure the markets are on fire now because they like less regulation, you can manipulate more, you can hide more and you can do much more illegal things - why, the new president is a crook after all.

But it won’t be sustainable. Especially with 50 percent tariffs etc which would crimp trade and cheap imports from overseas and see serious price hikes.

This will hurt the people who voted for him, blue-collar rednecks who think that he can make America great again, and all other poor people as well. The rich-poor divide will widen enormously.

The only silver lining is that Trump can’t stand again. As if that makes a difference - no one will want him by that time. If the democratic system is still standing, they will kick him out anyway along with the Republicans.

That is scant comfort. Prepare for a stormy ride over the next four years, even if you are not American, as a fascist racist takes to the skies to make his mark on the world - his last hurrah. Look out!

P GUNASEGARAM says that politicians must at least have enough sense to keep politics and patronage out of some decisions.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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