2 weeks Ago By Matt-sinha
For all the talk about swing states, this was a thumping win. The entire country shifted to the right, with Donald Trump making gains in 48 out of 50 states. It is America’s version of a landslide.
He won the White House, Congress and the popular vote. The House of Representatives – the last potential Democratic check on his powers – may yet follow. A man who could be in prison will instead be in the Oval Office.
This is Trump unbound. Having served one term already, he cannot stand again, and so he need not worry about alienating centrists. First time around, his own appointees acted as a handbrake on his wilder impulses and illegal demands.
Now he demands personal loyalty, a potential conflict with the oath to serve one’s country. The judiciary is also loaded in his favour. And in July the Supreme Court wrote him a blank cheque, ruling that he had broad immunity for his actions as president.
**** The only certainty is uncertainty. Indeed, that is his stated foreign policy, a negotiating stance intended to keep enemies and allies on their toes, guessing at his next move. Amid great liberal angst, he has a thumping mandate to deliver his radical right-wing agenda.
His enemies and supporters have often exaggerated what he will do in office. But he has promised deep tax cuts (highly popular) as well as the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants (also popular with his base, but expensive, fiendishly difficult, and perilous for some parts of the economy). Anti-vax activists expect to get roles in public health policy.
The rest of the world awaits a possible trade war, the abandonment of Ukraine, and a tougher stance on Iran, whatever that means. He has also repeatedly vowed revenge on his enemies – and will use his powers to end criminal cases into his illegal conduct. If he does half of it, this will be Trump on steroids.
The 250th anniversary of the US could be a stress test for its constitution. **** His comeback is without precedent. Even Berlusconi, the old crook, cannot compete with Trump’s pariah story.
Rebounding from two impeachments , from leaving office in disgrace, record low approval ratings, inciting an attack on the Capitol, trying to overthrow the election, four criminal cases and two assassination attempts...
His shamelessness, his fear of federal prison, and his enemies’ naivety have kept him in the race. He has used his legal jeopardy as an asset: martyr me if you dare. **** As for the Democrats, they deserved to lose.
They failed to understand most Americans’ anger with the status quo. Kamala Harris was a mediocre candidate, incapable of telling a story about the nation she wanted America to become. She had few answers to voters’ worries about the cost of living.
She is a member of the leadership class Trump loves to bait. She avoided tough questions instead of fighting a bold campaign, and she chose a dud running mate. Harris could not distance herself from an unpopular Biden administration – and of course from the cover-up about his incapacity.
She will for ever be haunted by the scale of this defeat. Meanwhile her party has four years to reflect and repent – and with what consequences? **** The checks and balances on Trump’s government may need to come from civil servants, military chiefs, intelligence leaders, members of Congress, law enforcement agencies and media. They will play a key role in protecting democracy, as Trump veers between popular policies and his authoritarian instincts.
What then? JD Vance and the other heirs to Maga may fail to emulate his populism, his ability to connect, his capacity to lie repeatedly and escape consequences. Yet Trump’s victory changes the United States’ sense of itself. It strikes right at the fundamental human question: who are we? Over the next four years, Americans will find out whether they like their answer.
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