If Trump wins
Donald Trump could repeat his 2016 win. Ongoing developments in Wisconsin and other US states are clearly working in his favor. The American president is stoking division among the American people while pandering to racist and other base instincts. That said, a big section of the middle class that voted for him four years ago is put off by the sight of unchecked rioting and violence. Trump is aware of this, and is seeking to exploit the insecurity of the average US citizen.
In 2016, a section of American society revolted against the elites deeming that they were indifferent to their problems, as well as to the excessive agenda of a group of fanatics. The average American was not interested in introducing gender-neutral toilets at public schools. If anything, they felt provoked by it.
Today, racism and police misconduct have generated a tsunami of justified protests that at some point spun out of control. Autonomous anarchist zones sprung up in certain areas, while movements to defund police also gained support across the country. Big news media organizations were split over whether to publish some article or not or got into disagreements about what is sexist or not. Violent protests and rioting have become a daily phenomenon.
The Democratic Party is watching confused as Trump plays the law and order card. The Democrats do not want to alienate their base but at the same time know that the images of flaming neighborhoods benefit the incumbent president.
America is in a deep crisis. It’s premature to say if or when it will get past it. The division is deep and it will not disappear after the elections; quite the opposite in fact.
Hatred, fear and insecurity can easily be turned into effective instruments in the hands of Trump, who knows how to use them. He may be faced with wise American establishment figures who warn against the perils of re-electing him. CNN may overstep the mark in its attacks against Trump. At the end of the day, all these things may well work in his favor. In a way, they are reminiscent of the effect that the media and the old political class had on the 2015 referendum when their recommendations pushed people to vote “No.”
We are living in radically anti-systemic times. Nothing is like it used to be. The US liberal elite was punished after failing to take the pulse of society. Should it fail a second time, it will be its own fault entirely.
