What a Trump Victory Means
This is a dark day for America, but also for the rest of the world. A deranged, degenerate sociopath has been propelled into office and given unlimited power. The consequences for millions of people in America are truly appalling. The scale of this tragedy – and the consequences of it are almost unimaginable. ‘Almost’ unimaginable except that most of the specific consequences were spelt out to the electorate upfront. As the coming months and years unfold nobody can say they didn’t know what was to come. Everything that is about to be delivered was described in detail on the campaign trail.
America voted for this.
The grotesque and malignant forces that have combined to deliver Trump into the Oval Office on a message of hate are triumphant today. Behind the unhinged and barely coherent phenomenon of Trump is a whole edifice of white supremacy.
The following things are all simultaneously true:
- Kamala Harris’s campaign was a strategic failure. The plan to run a virtually contentless campaign, talk of ‘Joy’ amid genocide, profile neocons and so-called ‘moderate’ Republicans, and flood the campaign with celebrity endorsements failed badly.
- Trump’s victory was engineered – as Brexit was – through playing to people’s base fears with a relentless bombardment of ads and narrative about America being ‘over-run’. The hysteria about mass immigration – that was pivotal in the Brexit phenomenon – is now an ever-presence of western society and is likely to be a permanent one. Trump’s victory was curated by an extraordinary tsunami of lies and propaganda. As Peter Geoghegan puts it: “Trump’s win has handed US democracy to Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos and a cast of plutocrats and vested interests.” Pointing out the multiple ways in which tech-lords manipulated and corrupted the public sphere is NOT the same as blaming the political phenomenon of Trumpism all on external forces, as if they were conjured from the ether.
- It is both true that Harris’s campaign was a textbook liberal failure AND that Trump is an authoritarian with fascist tendencies whose reign will be appalling for women, for people of colour, for minorities and will radically destabilise the world further than it already is.
- The consequences for the people of America are extremely dark. The sane-washing and apologism for Trump that has gone on in the British right – and by some elements of the left needs to be called out as the grim prospect of Trump’s time in office dawns.
- It is both true that the attempts to simply denounce Trump supporters as ‘deplorables’ (H. Clinton) or ‘garbage’ (J. Biden) are reductive and simplistic AND that there are elements within the MAGA movements that are unquestionably fascist, christian nationalist, and bound around a worldview that is deeply misogynist and racist. The combined forces across the spectrum of the far-right are going to be energised and emboldened by this victory, beyond anything we have seen so far.
- The consequences for women in America are absolutely appalling and there is no hyperbole or exaggeration in saying so.
- The consequences for the world in terms of peace and stability are absolutely appalling and there is no hyperbole or exaggeration in saying so. Stating such facts does not somehow cover for, or apologise for Biden’s (and by extension Harris’s) track-record on Palestine.
- Those on the left who have flirted with Trump apologism will now have to face up to the reality of what his ascent to power will mean for the people of Ukraine, and Eastern Europe.
- It would be wrong to consider this all a ‘mistake’. As Jason Hickel notes: “The Democrats have done all this purposefully and knowingly, for my whole life, not as some kind of “mistake” but in full consciousness that it is in the interests of capital. And because liberalism cannot address our crises, and because it crushes socialist alternatives, it inevitably paves the way for right-wing populism. They know this pattern, and yet they risk it every time – this election being only the most recent example. They did it in 2016, when they actively crushed the Sanders campaign and sent Trump to the White House. They do it because ultimately they (and I mean the liberal ruling class here) don’t really mind if fascists take power, so long as the latter too ensure the conditions for capital accumulation. They 100% prefer this to the possibility of a socialist alternative. So, progressives have to face reality. The dream of “converting” the Democratic party is dead. This is now a fact and it must be accepted.”
- Trump winning such an election having conducted himself in such a way, with grotesque racism, astonishing language and with the litany of prosecutions and lawsuits around him, marks a dark new reality. The Liberal hegemony is well and truly over, but the new era is also one in which overt racism, calls to violence and extreme social control of women is now routine and considered mainstream.
Finally, any romantic notions about the USA can be dispelled. They should have been dispelled by watching the Democratic incumbent arm Israel in a genocidal war, and defend their actions through daily media briefings; and they should further be dispelled because America just elected Donald Trump who told them exactly what he was and what he would do in advance.
Today is a day for grieving for America, and for the world. As Moira Donegan writes:
“Today is a day of despair, and it would be futile to tell those who fear and grieve for what is to come in America that they will be OK. It would also be dishonest: many of us, in truth, will not be OK. Donald Trump has decisively won the American election. He and his Republican allies have promised mass deportations that will ruin lives and sunder families; they have threatened to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and appoint the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr to a position of authority on public health. They have pledged vast cuts to social security and Medicare, the persecution of dissidents and violent suppression of Trump’s political enemies. There will almost certainly be a nationwide abortion ban and this will further degrade women’s citizenship, rob them of their dignity, steal their dreams and ruin their health.”
The impact on the populist right across the world, and in particular the newly reformed far-right in Britain should not be under-estimated as the dark-money, funding networks and think tanks (sic) are already in place to export and cross-fertilise Trump’s toxicity.
You might also have added the negative consequences for the faltering efforts to mitigate climate change. That’s a biggie.
Yes, that’s a huge consequence
Agree, possibly the deepest, tangible impact due to the deregulation.
A lot of the rest is window dressing and media furore and faux despair which while I don’t doubt means something, it will barely change people’s every day lives.
Not so climate change.
The rest is not “window dressing, media furore and faux despair”.
The Tariff policy will lead to inflation and job losses. Coupled to deregulation and the loss of workers rights, that will directly affect the lives of millions of “rubes” that fell for his con.
Yeah some of the responses to Trump’s victory are disgusting.
I see that the private prison giant Geo Group — which already has over a billion dollars in ICE contracts to manage immigration detention facilities—sees its stock soar on Trump’s win.
The deportation of 11 million people is already being planned.
‘a dark day for America, but also for the rest of the world?’
Tragic for many/most in the USA, including his own deluded supporters but little worse perhaps a bit better for those, men, women and children, in those parts where the Democrats have been, often more so than the Republicans, the champions of ‘US’ interests and ready to kill any number of the innocents in pursuit of that, from the Philippines more than a hundred years ago, through Vietnam and to this very day, arming their proxies in a war with Iran to carry out an Old Testament massacre in Gaza?
Might he persuade Ukraine to let their Russian minority go? Might he reduce US interventionism?
John – while not downplaying Biden’s political and military support for Israel in last year do not forget the Trump is a much bigger friend of Netanyahu. Indeed many think that BN has stuck 2 fingers up to Biden to help his pal Trump get re-elected. Ask yourself why and how might this play out for Palestinians?
Re Ukraine I cannot see this ending well for this country. In all likelihood they will be forced to give up part of their nation or face annihilation in near future. This will embolden a bitter Putin who will almost certainly be back for more and revenge.
It is also a dark day for the natural world and those of us who care about climate change. If the USA, the most industrially developed country and a major polluter will not lead on this issue it gives others a reason to backslide on commitments to reduce global warming. I can hear Farage and the Tories saying why penalise ourselves when USA don’t.
The only possible bright spot I can see on this dark day is the realisation by Westminster that the so called ‘special relationship’ is over and that UK needs to concentrate on building solidarity with Europe rather than US. Having watched PMQ’s I am afraid that current government and opposition have a long way to travel to reach this conclusion.
One small quibble. This is certainly a black day for Ukraine. But it’s not helpful to say Ukraine “will be forced to give up part of their nation”. This confuses three different concepts – nation, state and territory. Ukraine will almost certainly end up losing some territory, but arguably this should always have been on the table. Ukraine’s post-1954 boundaries were pretty artificial (a whim of Nikita Kruschev). The goal of incorporating into Ukraine a significant population who self-identify as Russian was always problematic, on both geopolitical and democratic grounds.
Dennis – I stand corrected and should have written country rather than nation.
I note that it usually larger, more powerful countries who claim territory from other countries based on ethnicity of peoples living there. This usually involves a lot of agitation by larger state in the affected region to achieve this aim. For Russia to annex territory through armed invasion cannot be acceptable – remember the Sudetenland in 1930’s?
There are many who live close to D.C. and are not necessarily religiously affiliated seriously preparing for some version of End Times as this New Yorker magazine article points out.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/11/11/among-the-civil-war-preppers?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=tny&utm_mailing=TNY_Daily_Paid_110424&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&utm_term=tny_daily_digest&bxid=5bd66d952ddf9c6194380c9c&cndid=14809073&hasha=32989d56b901712e16fecef948aa9b68&hashb=ccd38eca1b11d2811dd1c34e01c20728c3bc05cc&hashc=00c9ed2d2bdf5ace0b689ddd33fd9aecd16a69ce0152d90c513303cf9adaa8ac&esrc=OIDC_SELECT_ACCOUNT_PAGE&mbid=CRMNYR012019
It is indeed a dark day for America and the rest if the world….’turkeys voting for xmas’…
@Mary, or perhaps monkeys voting for mpox?
Dark money has been active for along time
Democrats fell on the sword of it..wars…lies a backbone of both parties ruled from afar..that the bit thats hidden.
Perhaps a desperate need for peace motivated half of ametica in spite of everyrhing that appears negative…
Things have to become worse for people to see thaye might have been misled…time will let us taste the trump-pudding…is our own goverment in a good place to balance the taste of it
Brainwashing is an art well practised everywhere..and in every d
Situation being aware and alert to.it.
As a friend said to me ..believe nothing.
Our own gut instinct is a good place to start analysing everything
Why are you surprised by Trump’s win in the same way the British establishment were surprised by Brexit. You have learnt nothing.
The West has allowed itself to be dominated by a ruling class that has put more value on graduate elite status and group identity (based on race, ethnicity, sex, sexuality, migrant, religious) of minorities in their own countries.
In contrast they despise the non-graduates and blue-collar working class, especially those who are white, male, straight, who love their country and its traditions, and who expect to be respected by the ruling class as the establishment does any other group in the country.
The grad elites lack this most important example of diversity – that is of class and beliefs. This lack of inclusion of the majority in the country’s narrative is at the heart of the failure by Kamala Harris.
Despising the majority leads to discounting their concerns, beliefs, views, sense of self-worth.
The elite’s demonstrate that they are more concerned with migrants, critical social justice issues and their own status as a graduate.
Did the Democrats really think that promoting restoring Federal laws on abortion was going to clinch the election? How privileged middle class is that?
The grad elites disregard the sense of hurt and abandonment felt by the non-graduates.
The Democrats also believed that minority groups would just fall into line and vote for the graduate elite candidate because she was an educated non-white woman.
The graduate elites need to get their heads out of their behinds and see that a nation comprises a wider community than the minority graduate elite and their chosen minorities
The non-grad population didn’t vote for Trump because he bamboozled them. They voted for him because he respected them and their values, and offered them hope.
Despite their superior education the grad elites allowed themselves to think that they are morally superior to the masses. I guess the masses sent them an important message.
It is ‘privileged’ middle class to think a women should have rights about what she does with her own body?
Do think if all the college graduates who voted for Trump had voted Democrat, he would have still won?
These questions are rhetorical, obvs.
Ha ha. You’re a caution.
Stevie – Trump did not accept he lost 2020 election and tried to instigate a move to overturn result. That, by any definition, shows he does not respect democracy and should have ruled him out from standing for elected office again.
You do not need to be a graduate to recognise an authoritarian and understand the basics of democracy.
“The non-grad population didn’t vote for Trump because he bamboozled them. They voted for him because he respected them and their values, and offered them hope.”
Trump does NOT respect workers. How do we know? Because he told us so throughout his campaign. Like his proud boast of not paying people for work done by them on his behalf because …. what are they going to do about it without being bankrupted by his legal shenanigans. Or his other boast he does not pay overtime because he doesn’t want to …. though he still expects them to actually work the extra hours …. just for no pay. Or his gleefully expressed admiration for Elon Musk’s firing of many workers for daring to raise a complaint about their conditions …. or just because he wants to …. its a control thing. Its gonna suck to be an an American “rube” who voted for Trump expecting him to have their back. But they only have themselves to blame. After all, as I said, he was up front about his LACK of respect for them.
And what “values”? And whose “values” for that matter? Racism? Bigotry? Religious fundamentalism? In a modern social democracy you expect your aspiring leaders to counter those destructive forces that drive crime, violence, inequality and sundry other social ills …. NOT enable them. Many whose “values” you seem to believe were respected are about to learn just how foolish that was …. though not the straight, white, male, fundamentalist “minority”.
And as for “hope” …. the mere fact he gave them “hope” IS the “bamboozling”. He lied, lied often, lied habitually about anything and everything to work them up into a rage over non-existent issues. Remember the one about kids going to school in the morning a boy, having their genitals removed, then going home in the afternoon a girl? Or the whole “they’re eating the dawgs” bullshit?
They were “bamboozled” alright. Their shame, though, is in their obvious willingness to be “bamboozled”. They chose to ignore everything he said, everything he has done and everything he said he will do. To be callous, they deserve everything that’s about to shatter their world.
A dark day indeed, and much to think about. The Democrat narrative on the economy failed miserably, because the economic growth the Democrats pointed to as evidence of success of their administration cut no ice with much of the public. Redistribution, not growth, must lie at the centre of a progressive agenda to defeat the far right and its plutocratic backers.
Grief? Really?
Grief is what you feel when people die, nothing to do with some elections in a foreign country…
Too preachy and hysterical this tone for me, sorry…
Grief is the emotion described by people I know in America, mostly women who feel (rightly) their reproductive rights being stripped from them. This is a reality.
Grief or grieving is a response to loss, or great sorrow. Obviously it applies to bereavement, but not exclusively. Its use is entirely appropriate within the context of the article.
I certainly felt genuine grief the day after Indyfef. It might have persisted too, but I got properly annoyed at Cameron’s EVEL speech; which helped snap the funk in short order.
Go ahead and grieve, by all means, it’s just I dont share the feeling…
What I do feel is despair and cynicism.
They will end up wiping out half the planet, Musk, Trump, Bezos and all those fck cnts who run the show…
The passivity of the Scots is much more difficult to accept for me…
The Americans have always been dumb. Obama came to Scotland and started going on about the Emerald Isle, George W Bush thought Spain was in Mexico… Dumb…
But if you watch one of the more recent Novara Media, it turns out the Americans basically own Britain. It turns out in your day to day life, you are constantly buying American product from almost any high street cup of coffee, to Boots the chemist, to waterstones and Blackwells now both owned by Amazon…
We are a colony in all but name…
https://youtu.be/uK7DINiVuPA?si=IcMPW1R5YWh-Iujf
Oh Please spare us – the women of Scotland have been living in dark days for some time now.
Worried about our “dreams” ? how about the living nightmare of losing hard won sex based rights; being cancelled or losing your livelihood for wrong think?
The Democrats offered nothing to women except abortion – that was the offer …that was it.
Mothers trying to hold their families together having billionaires Oprah , Taylor Swift and Beyonce rammed down their throats.
Like Brexit there will have been millions of different reasons voters chose Trump but anger like the anger felt by many women in Scotland and beyond must have played its part.
I expect “This Is What Happens” to appear on placards in this country in future elections.
“Worried about our “dreams” ? how about the living nightmare of losing hard won sex based rights; being cancelled or losing your livelihood for wrong think?”
That is exactly what Trump’s America promises them. There’s more to sex based rights than having to share a public toilet with the tiny trans community.
Er, I may be misinterpreting you but supporting sex-based ‘rights’ is supporting the abortion ban?
Sex-based rights are fundamental to and have been the foundation of women’s liberation. Trump and his followers have very little truck with that as has been widely reported. Yes, there is an alignment with not buying into trans ideology / theory but generally for quite different reasons which is very important. Sex-based rights do not come into with Trumpers.
For the American right it is very similar to Putin’s Russia i.e. an objection to all non-traditional gender and sexuality expression, an adherence to traditional ‘family values’ and a deeply conservative social worldview generally. This is not at all the same to some feminist’s objections to the demand that it is accepted that there is no meaningful difference between a transwoman and a woman and all the potential consequences of that for women’s sex-based rights.
Harris appealed to Sociology graduates and Trump managed to appeal to manual labourers and rich people at the same time. Whatever – I presume the pair of them are both seriously wealth. Perhaps it would be better if the prez of the USA had the same status as the president of the Rep. of Ireland.
Er, do you follow politics at all?
aint Democracy a bitch.
Yes it is sometimes but the big difference is that Harris has accepted defeat whereas Trump not only never accepted defeat in 2020 but tried to instigate a move to overthrow the election result and hence democracy. This should have debarred him from being a representative in a democracy.
This is not the end of democracy, but of its pretense. Harris/Trump is the flowering of more than half a century of two-party lesser-evil politics, entirely geared towards resolving the internecine struggles of the ruling class (often referred to as “the one percent”). What comes as a revelation to liberals and their pundits, is just how widely and rightly Harris was despised (read her utterly feckless concession speech here: https://time.com/7173617/kamala-harris-concession-speech-full-transcript/ ….to the point that Trump appeared as possibly a “”shock therapy” alternative, a wake-up call to the habitual dishonesty and corruption that expresses itself in the form of the electoral casino. Money won this election, as it always does. The last time an “outsider” had a plausible chance at the Presidency was Ross Perot, himself a multi-millionaire who could fund his own campaign. Money rules, money votes, money gets heard—all others need not bother. That is the rule, the Golden Rule: those with the gold rule.
The U$A is not the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, but the land of the fee and the home of the knave–and now, the knave will be enthroned, no pretense needed. If nothing else, a large swathe of voters could relate to Trump’s trademark snarl–a fitting expression of the sentment of many millions who are “fed up”–pretty much with the routine corruption and lying that has long characterized “business as usual” in the halls of Congress, busily growing richer via stockbroker tips and business connections.
There will be resistance, and that is the one source of hope in all this; as ever, the solidarity and sacrifices of the 99% are key, as we are the makers of history. Whether there is time to forestall the global catastrophes of war on climate, people, and civilization remains to be seen–but not just seen, created. Hope is something you create, as Greta Thunberg has observed. Let us have many more like her.
Jesus wants Donald for a sunbeam.
From a US perspective. If you don’t read Counter Punch, this could be a good time to start https://archive.is/2024.11.10-045247/https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/11/08/americas-descent-into-fascism-can-be-stopped/
Verso Books, in the UK has its own take on How Did We Get Here Again?
https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/blogs/news/how-did-we-get-here-again?
and a further selection on what does this mean, with titles like Late Fascism, Disaster Nationalism, Burn Out, Bodies Under Siege, Abortion Beyond the Law, Future of Denial, etc.