Opinion What Donald Trump’s popularity says about American democracy

During his presidency, Donald Trump radically recalibrated the norms of expected presidential conduct by undergoing impeachment proceedings twice, once for seeking foreign interference in the 2020 election and the second time for inciting insurrection at the US capitol. However, he came out of both the proceedings with his public image unhurt and minor fluctuations in his approval ratings. He also contested the 2020 presidential election, an election he narrowly lost. Despite the former president undergoing four criminal investigations and being found liable for sexual abuse and defamation, his standing in the GOP primary polls is only growing on account of these indictments, bolstering his chances of becoming the Republican Party nominee for the forthcoming election in 2024. It is pertinent to ask what allows Donald Trump to wield such power? Most notably, will the process of prosecuting him only erode the authority of the democratic process in the public eye?

Of the four ongoing criminal investigations, there are two very malicious charges in the State of Georgia and in Washington DC that Trump faces regarding the 2020 presidential election. These charges involve interfering in the counting process in Georgia and meddling in the transfer of power after the 2020 election by attempting to change the results of the election through state electors in six key swing states. These attempts clearly corroborate his intentions to breed mistrust for democratic public institutions and challenge the impartiality of rule of law. A gambit that he has consistently employed throughout both of his campaign trials and during his time at the presidency.

Trump has consistently portrayed the deep state as a corrupt and malevolent force that has actively tried to undermine his presidency and political agenda. These indictments which constitute one of the first steps in a long process of prosecution do not guarantee the deliverance of justice. However, with the media coverage, an unintended consequence of this prosecution is the return of Trump’s post-truth politics into popular political discourse. And inadvertently, based on his toxic rhetoric about the deep state imbued in moral relativism, the entire prosecution process ends up being cast as a trial of not just his character but also a trial of the impartiality of the criminal proceedings and democratic institutions in the eyes of the American public.

Trump’s immunity from harsh public scrutiny emanates from his membership of celebrity culture where there exists a popular acceptance of moral and ethical bankruptcy. Celebrity status, once achieved, becomes its own morality or justification. A complementary political identity that Trump has embraced is that of a ruthless realpolitik politician who is willing to subvert moral considerations for making the “best deals”. A commingling of these two identities and subcultures in an American electorate that is more deeply divided today than ever on political ideology, race, income, education and religion, has meant a normalisation of this malignant normality. A normality that is based on an indifference to Trump constantly trying to redefine the truth in the face of his wrongdoings, drawing attention to his power through crises, whilst showing utter impunity for subjectivities and rights of American citizens who disagree with him.

The primary demographic that supports Trump includes a predominantly non-college educated, white working class that is economically anxious and has seen deterioration in its social status. This demographic fears the loss of its white supremacy and feels that America today is less secure than it has been in earlier stages in history. It is also a demographic that feels a heightened threat perception from immigrants, global economy and progressivist ideas of the left that foster a state of perpetual protest and agitation, anger and tumult. Trump tries to situate himself as the saviour, defender and custodian for this community.

Trump appeals to a wounded and fractured American group psyche, which seeks to defend itself against further harm and is looking for a remedy for the wound. For the demographic that Trump represents, during his first term as president, he positioned himself as the remedy, by very effectively dismantling the institutions that enable progressive changes, such as pulling out of the Paris climate accords, attacking LGBTQ rights, attempting to repeal the affordable health care act, restricting and paralysing the legal immigration system through xenophobic travel restrictions. With the resurgence of Donald Trump, we might not be certain of his eventual fortunes in the next election, but we can be certain about returning to a malignant normality where political correctness is dispensable, the credibility of democratic institutions is eroded, and toxic untruths, conspiracy theories and alternative facts become acceptable.

From the perspective of American domestic politics, Trump, through his divisive antics, open embrace of tribalism and poisonous rhetoric, is bound to thrust a decaying political and civic culture into greater retrogression. This trend will be most apparent and manifest in the conduct and discourses of his Republican competitors as they get pressured into resorting to similar antics on the campaign trail to keep up. Globally, given that America finds itself in a pre-eminent position in the world, with brazen attacks on the legitimacy of liberal democratic institutions such as free and fair elections and rule of law by strong men such as Donald Trump, there is bound to be a dangerous precedent being set for other nations to emulate.

The writer is Assistant Professor, Miranda House College