Trump inflames the
passions of his audience
I am not blind to the merits of President
Trump. He has given a new voice to many Americans who felt marginalized and he
has put a bomb under an Establishment hitherto tenacious in its possession of
privilege. The US has prospered and avoided new military conflicts. He has even
helped Israel make peace with her neighbours. Yes, there is a credit side on
the Trump balance sheet, but, alas, the liabilities side is much larger. For the
Donald presidency has seen outrageous lies disseminated daily, with very few
retractions, amid a weird atmosphere of self-congratulation and rampant
egotism. Trump has appealed to the prejudices of his supporters, notably fear
of Mexicans and immigrants generally. His language is so tactless he has
widened the gap between whites and other minorities in the US.
Internationally Trump’s hostile attitude has
alienated his natural allies in Europe and the Far East. Over-simplifying
tricky issues, Trump has withdrawn from alliances, treaties and partnerships
leaving a power vacuum which Russia and China are only too happy to fill. This
is a poor legacy for future Western democrats and is the product of Trump’s
ignorance of US diplomatic history and espousal of a tub-thumping America First
policy (or rather “slogan”). He has substantially debased the dignity of his
office.
We hope Trump is a one-off, though US
demagogues have a long pedigree from William Jennings Bryan through
Huey Long to Senator Joe McCarthy. I dread a close US
presidential election on 3 November, only about three weeks away, with Trumpian
screams of “Fraud” and possible recourse to a controversial Supreme Court,
erratic House Speaker Pelosi and a fanciful bipartisan ticket if normal
inauguration is made impossible. It could be very nasty indeed!
Americans may need to be vigilant and agile if
things go seriously wrong constitutionally.
There is a chilling historical precedent. Adolf Hitler’s Nazis
were the largest party in the Reichstag after the elections on 30/01/1933 but
had no majority. In February the Reichstag building was set alight by the
Communists, said Hitler, but more likely by the Nazis, to cause panic. A
temporary state of emergency was declared on 28 February suspending basic rights
and there was paramilitary violence. New elections took place on 6/03/33 but
the Nazis still failed to get a majority. The Prussian elite and the Nazis came
to an understanding at Potsdam on 21/3/33 and passed an Enabling Act which
transformed liberal Weimar Germany into a de facto legal dictatorship on
23/3/33 under Adolf Hitler. All this was achieved in just 2 months. If Trump
has no scruples about, nor respect for, the traditions of the US, he has this
deadly pathway to follow. I hesitate to use Trump’s name in the same breath as
that of Hitler, (they are worlds apart) but I cannot say there is absolutely no
danger.
Wilkes and Liberty
The UK is far from perfect. It has not been much plagued by demagogues recently but John Wilkes in the 1770s caused a huge popular anti-monarchist furore and Lord George Gordon led the infamous Gordon Riots of 1780 which ravaged London. In our times Nigel Farage has been an eloquent advocate of Brexit, a cause I support, using all the rhetorical tricks, swaying the 2016 referendum and pretending to be “just Folks”. Nor can the French gloat: their parade of odd-balls includes Jean-Baptiste Marat, revolutionary terrorist and failed Ami du Peuple, General Boulanger, the “man on the black horse” who excited the French briefly in 1890, and Jean-Marie Le Pen, extreme nationalist who polled surprisingly well in 2002 for President.
All democracies are targeted by plausible
rabble-rousing demagogues. We democrats must ignore their blandishments and
repeat to ourselves the proven values of reason, tolerance and unity to weather
the storms capricious nature will hurl against us.
SMD
11.10.20
Text copyright © Sidney Donald
2020
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