That American polity, and society, is a deeply fractured one sounds like a truism in 2021—the November elections bore it out, and so did the long drawn out Black Lives Matter protests in recent years. It all seemed like a rerun of the fractious 1960s. But it took the active, persistent goading of lame duck US president Donald Trump to bring hordes of rightwing, White, overwhelmingly male malcontents to the very heart of American democracy. Their unruly, violent rampage—by turns angry, sneeringly sarcastic and jubilant—on the US Capitol sent shock waves across the globe. That America, the world’s oldest democracy, a beacon of hope for the free world, should have descended to the level of a banana republic, with wild-eyed protestors out to negate the results of a legitimate election, kept the world riveted to television screens.
A Dirty Phalanx
The rampage at the heart of American democracy is a final, horrifying statement of all that Trump has stood for
On hindsight, it was a logical outcome—a grand finale, if you like—of the Trump presidency, with the president bent on breaking rules and allowing White supremacists to come to the fore. Trump’s support base was founded on such canards as that about Barak Obama’s birth, and through his presidency he gave a nod and a wink to right-wing groups like The Proud Boys. Even before the November polls, he had made clear his intention to challenge the results if they went against him; after it, he made good his promise spectacularly. Bellowing from every forum that the elections were stolen from him, he filed lawsuits to overturn them; one by one, they were thrown out by the courts. As a last resort, to ensure that the US Congress did not endorse Joe Biden’s election victory, he called his supporters to gather in large numbers in Washington—“Be there, will be wild!” he tweeted. Trump’s billing hit its mark. The storming of the Capitol complex degenerated into what Americans are terming an insurrection.
After the shameful assault on the US Congress, Trump’s legacy lay in ruins. If there were any lingering doubts about him being the worst American president in history, there remains none now. Sadly, many in the extreme right base of the Republican Party continue to believe in Trump’s claims of poll fraud. The alternative reality Trump assiduously promoted through his presidency ensures that neither logic nor hard evidence can sway this lot. Frighteningly, the nearly 70-million Trump voters will find it extremely difficult to accept Biden as the new president. Twitter’s ban of Trump, one must agree, has come too late.
The marauding mob did expose the fissures in American society, but the country’s institutions have stood firm. The Supreme Court—despite more Republican-appointed judges--as well as lower courts, threw out Trump’s frivolous election fraud suits. And Republican officials in states like Georgia refused to be bullied by Trump into trashing the results of a free and fair election. The day after the mayhem, when lawmakers had to be escorted to safety, Congress resumed work and finally, in the early hours of January 7, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed the Biden-Harris win.
The other flagrant fact was the double standards of the police in full display. Last summer, the Black Lives Matter campaign and protests following the killing of George Floyd were dealt with ruthless efficiency, especially in Portland. In shocking contrast, in Washington DC on January 6, police presence was minimal, with some allowing selfies with members of the marauding gangs. Arrests were minimal, to begin with. But this was not the whole story. Among the five dead at the end of the rampage was a police officer—one of the valiant few who fought off the ruffians at the gates of the chamber of Congress itself—who had been badly beaten up by the crowd.
Trumpism has triumphed despite the loss of the election, but was finally shown up for the ignorant rowdyism it barely attempts to conceal. Frightened of the consequences of his action, Trump was forced to acknowledge that Biden will be the next president, but angry Democrats believe he and those who abetted his madness need to pay a price. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is preparing an impeachment motion. If it passes, he will be the only US president in history to face impeachment twice.
Trump may be regarded as the main villain of this sordid piece, but liberal democracies are under assault across the world. Rightwing, populist politicians are taking centerstage across the world—from Hungary, Poland, France, Britain, Italy, Brazil, India, Philippines as well as the US. In the past, populists could be called out, but with social media reigning supreme facts have become a casualty. American political sociologist Shawn Rosenberg said at a seminar in Berlin in 2019 : “Right-wing populists don’t have to make much sense. They can simultaneously blame immigrants for taking jobs away from Americans, while claiming that these same people are lazy layabouts sponging off welfare. All the populist followers care is that they now have an enemy to blame….” He made the point that for the average citizen, populism makes no demand. “Populists make just one (demand). They insist that people be loyal. Loyalty entails surrendering to the populist nationalist vision.’’
For the present moment, Trump’s ruined legacy is beset by bad news. Though he boasts much about his handling of the economy—the stock market performed excellently during his tenure and unemployment was at its lowest before the pandemic put a halt to business—it had started recovering during Obama’s tenure itself. He trumpets his success in the Middle East, but with the Palestinian question unresolved and trampled upon by new Israeli assertion, he has nothing to boast of.
However, his China policy has come in for praise. Since the time of Richard Nixon, when the US began wooing China to undermine the USSR, successive US administrations have learned to co-exist with China. Despite widespread knowledge of China stealing trade secrets and technology from American companies, Washington did not act. But Trump, who built his 2016 election campaign on bringing back American jobs from China, was ready to call out China for unfair trade practices and its predatory moves in Asia. Thanks to Trump, European governments have woken up to the danger of an unfettered China. Germany and France may dislike Trump, but they are now on board with the US on containing China. Though Democrats and the US establishment have long regarded Russia as the main enemy, the Chinese challenge to the US is now being accepted by both parties, largely thanks to Trump’s robust anti-China policies.
However, a single swallow does not a summer make. Where does US politics go from this low point? “I am very pessimistic,” says Harsh Pant of Observer Research Foundation. “The faultlines of America’s political structure have not changed. With Trump banned from Twitter and Facebook, the debate in the US will be on the power of big tech companies and how to whittle that down. Free speech will be the talking point in the next few months. I don’t see Trump’s people backing off.” He also believes that if Trump is impeached, he will be regarded as a martyr and remain a factor in US politics. That’s a frightening thought for the entire democratic world.