[ad_1]
Hopefully Joe Biden can at least start down the road to heal this fractured nation and that whatever he can accomplish in the next four years will serve as a useful backlash for Trumpism.
The degree to which roughly half of the American electorate supported Donald Trump in this presidential election, after a steady stream of outrage over the past four years, is a sad testament to how petty a significant percentage of the American public remains. The partisan battle lines have only grown stronger and appear to be insurmountable, at least in the short term, as Blue and Red America seem perfectly content to attack each other in perpetuity. The founding fathers would be turning in their graves if they could see what America has become.
I published an article in July 2016 saying that I believed Donald Trump had a narcissistic personality disorder and tried to warn America of what awaited him if we elected him president. Exactly four years ago, on the eve of the US presidential election, I wrote an article predicting that Trump would win. My view was largely based on the belief that Hillary Clinton’s so-called “coronation” was premature, that she was a flawed candidate, and that Trump had managed to tap into an important vein in American political culture: the collar voter. unheard of blue. I published that article at 3:00 a.m. after the election, one of the first to acknowledge the birth of Trumpism.
In that article, I wrote: “It is doubtful that Mr. Trump can heal our terribly divided nation, to which he contributed so skillfully and successfully. Now that the battle lines are drawn, between those who cling to an ‘Ozzie and Harriet’ vision of America, in which all are white, conservative, straight and Christian, and those who recognize and accept the multiracial, ethnic , religious and sexual orientation of this great land: There is no way to put Humpty Dumpty back together, certainly not with a leader hell-bent on stoking tendencies toward division, rather than unity. While certainly not all of us are going to come together and sing kumbaya, no matter who the president is, we will not do it with a chief divider at the helm.
We have seen the result of four years under his control. The United States has rarely been more partisan or divided. Those who yearned for a vision of America from Ozzie and Harriet have grown more emboldened four years later, apparently believing that America can once again become a bastion of white conservatism, rife with racism, bigotry and misogyny. That is unlikely to happen. America has become too diverse and enough progress toward equality to return to that sad vision. Partisanship is sure to continue to worsen in the next four years. The question is, can we go back to a time when bipartisanship reigns?
Of course, it was only a generation ago that that was the norm. I’d like to believe that Biden can somehow steer us in that direction, but what will likely be required to return to that era is sustained leadership from someone who has not spent decades snout in the canal within the Beltway. Biden is not that man, but neither are most politicians in Congress who have made politics a way of life, rather than a temporary service to their community, state, or nation.
To achieve that, the United States will need a total change in the way Washington is governed, with cleanliness, term limits, mandatory liability commitments, and an end to special interests, lobbyists, and corruption, among other things. Great chance that will happen soon! It seems that we will have to settle for going down that path, which would be a victory in itself, knowing that the United States has been saved from perhaps insurmountable damage due to a second Trump term.
As for Trump, he will surely not walk silently into the night. We can expect him to challenge the election results for days and weeks (if not months) to come, his fragile ego refusing to acknowledge that he is the ultimate “loser.” As he toils and writhes in self-righteous agony, he will be planning his next act, which may be a combination of a reality show and / or radio show, creating a media empire, or planning his own political comeback in 2024. Trump he has made an undeniable and indelible mark on the American political landscape, for better or for worse, and his ego will not allow him to simply walk away, as George W. Bush did.
As for his followers, surely, they will not change their political tendencies or beliefs in the short term, nor should they be expected to do so. From their perspective, they have found a political voice, so Trump will have a loyal legion of fans who will support him no matter what he decides to do. That ensures that the United States will be within many more years of Trumpism, and its legacy, of course, will live on in the Supreme Court for decades.
The United States got the leader it deserved for the past four years, but for the first time since 1992, it has decided to change course after Trump has served just one term. Let’s hope that Mr. Biden can at least begin the path of healing this fractured nation and that whatever he is capable of accomplishing in the next four years will serve as a useful backlash for Trumpism. While the United States can endure the Trump legacy bubbling under the surface, it cannot afford another four years of Trump’s presidency. We have to believe that, having said “no” to another Trump term, the United States has decided that another four years of him is too high a price to pay. The question is, will the answer be the same when Trump runs again in 2024?
Daniel Wagner is CEO of Country Risk Solutions. His latest book is “The Chinese Vortex”.
