Abstract
Mesmerizing, simply incredible, and horrifying in all ramifications, the news and implications of Donald Trump’s election as American president certainly startled the whole world; however, it cannot be underestimated, given what this means for the broader debate on democracy, populism, and medialization. From celebrity politics, political satire, and passionate polemics to puns, political insults, jests, and parodies, Trump’s presidency was riddled with a damning litany of inconsistencies, topsy-turvy, and cronyism. His refusal to concede the 2020 US Presidential election; his promotion of baseless conspiracy theories attacking voting integrity; “helping” democratic candidates at the Georgia Senate runoffs and his encouragement of the crowd that that rioted at the Capitol on January 6. His election represents a dramatic progression of America’s electoral system from a political process to an entertainment process. This volume shows how the politics of racial sentiments, negative partisanship, deep polarization, and authoritarian populism in the United States and elsewhere impact the nation-state, society, economic development, and community building in the twenty-first century, presented in various illustrations in new and determined ways in and outside conventional forms of politics. It emphasizes that democracy and human rights are very important areas of global politics but are under attack by global forces of autocracy, populism/neofascism, and authoritarianism. Alternative interpretations are offered, while consideration on the volume is also presented.
Many thanks to the anonymous reviewers for their comments. Portions of the chapter were also in Kellner, D. (2018). Donald Trump and the Politics of Lying. In: Peters, M.A., Rider, S., Hyvönen, M., Besley, T. (eds) Post-Truth, Fake News. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8013-5_7. (With Springer Permission Granted for Re-use)
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Notes
- 1.
On the increasing role of media spectacles in U.S. and global society, see Douglas Kellner, Media Spectacle. London and New York: Routledge, 2003. On Trump and media spectacle, see Douglas Kellner, American Nightmare: Donald Trump, Media Spectacle, and Authoritarian Populism. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2016.
- 2.
On celebrity politics and the implosion of entertainment and politics in U.S. society, see Douglas Kellner, “Barack Obama, Media Spectacle, and Celebrity Politics” in A Companion to Celebrity, Edited by P. David Marshall and Sean Redmond. Malden, MA. and Oxford, UK. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015: 114–134. See also Mark Wheeler, Celebrity Politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity 2013. The best study of Trump, the media, and his long cultivation and exploitation of celebrity is found in Timothy L. O’Brien, TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2016 [2005].
- 3.
Parenthetically, there were enough media comparisons between Trump and Hitler and fascism for Trump to say with some perhaps genuine perplexity “I’m not Hitler! I don’t like the guy!” See Sam Sanders, “Trump Champions The ‘Silent Majority,’ But What Does That Mean In 2016?” NPR, January 22, 2016 at http://www.npr.org/2016/01/22/463884201/trump-champions-the-silent-majority-but-what-does-that-mean-in-2016 (accessed on July 20, 2016). At this time, Trump was asking his followers to raise their hands if they would vote for him as President, and the simultaneous raised hands going up looked like a mob of Hitler salutes! And there is a story out there that Trump keeps a book of Hitler’s writings by his bedside; see O’Brien, op. cit., p. 200; the story originates from a UPI report, August 9, 1990, cited in O’Brien, op. cit., p. 260.
- 4.
Carl Bernstein started calling Trump a neo-fascist and an American-brand fascist on CNN on June 19, 2016. See Tom Boggioni, “Carl Bernstein: Donald Trump is a ‘pathological liar’ and America’s first ‘neofascist’ nominee,” Rawstory, June 19, 2016 at http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/carl-bernstein-donald-trump-is-a-pathological-liar-and-americas-first-neofascist-nominee/ (accessed on July 20, 2016). In an article by Adam Gopnik, “Being Honest About Trump, The New Yorker, July 14, 2016 at http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/being-honest-about-trump (accessed on July 20, 2016), Gopnik comments: “It is the essence of fascism to have no single fixed form—an attenuated form of nationalism in its basic nature, it naturally takes on the colors and practices of each nation it infects. In Italy, it is bombastic and neoclassical in form; in Spain, Catholic and religious; in Germany, violent and romantic. It took forms still crazier and more feverishly sinister, if one can imagine, in Romania, whereas under Oswald Mosley, in England, its manner was predictably paternalistic and aristocratic. It is no surprise that the American face of fascism would take on the forms of celebrity television and the casino greeter’s come-on, since that is as much our symbolic scene as nostalgic re-creations of Roman splendors once were Italy’s.” Op. cit. My take on this is Trump’s movement began modelled on authoritarian populism of Latin American and other dictators and gradually morphed into full-blown fascism with the January 6, 2021 insurrection in which Trump led his followers to occupy the Capitol to block the legitimate transfer of power, which led to his impeachment and a series of local, state, and federal investigations ongoing as we conclude this Introduction in Spring-Summer 2023. These investigations led to a first indictment in New York City where Trump surrendered to a New York Court on an indictment of 42 cases of felony charges, leading Defendant Trump to give-himself up and plead “Not guilty” on April 4, 2023, to the 42 felony charges, forcing the Defendant to stand trial later in the year; so far Trump and his supporters’ media response to his indictment, and further forthcoming indictments, is a full-on fascist attack on the local, state, and federal U.S. Judiciary that are investigating and potentially indicating him. Trump carried out a verbally explosive attacks on the African-American New York prosecutor and Georgia state prosecutor, with strong racist and proto-fascist underpinnings.
- 5.
The notion of “the magic helper” to whom the follower submits to the authoritarian leader in the hopes that their problems will be solved is found in Erich Fromm’s Escape from Freedom, op. cit., pp. 174–178; on “authoritarian idolatry,” see Sane Society, op. cit. p. 237 f. Escape from Freedom not only critiqued Nazi ideology, the party apparatus, the concept of the Fuhrer, and the psychology of Nazi mass followers of Hitler, but Fromm also analyzed fairy tales and magical thinking in National Socialism, a theme he expanded in later writings like The Forgotten Language: An Introduction to the Understanding of Dreams, Fairy Tales and Myths. New York: Random House, 1988.
- 6.
On Trump’s business failures, see Wayne Barrett, Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth: The Deals, the Downfall, the Reinvention. New York: Regan Books, 2016 (revision of 1992 book Trump: The Deals and the Downfall); O’Brien, op. cit.; D’Antonio, op. cit.; David Cay Johnston, The Making of Donald Trump. New York: Melville House; and Kranish and Fisher, Trump Revealed, op. cit. See also and “The Art of the Bad Deal. Donald Trump’s Business Flops, Explained,” Newsweek, August 8, 2018: 24–33,
- 7.
On the centrality of the role of a Superhero in U.S. culture and politics, see Robert Jewett and John Lawrence, The American Monomyth. New York: Anchor, 1977 and Robert Jewett and John Lawrence, The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids, Mich: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002. Trump’s campaign follows this model of the redemptive Hero who will slay America’s enemies and return the Kingdom to peace and prosperity, and he has been playing the martyred hero trying to regain his lost people and redeem and get retribution for his followers, words and tropes Trump is actually using as we conclude this analysis in Spring 2023.
- 8.
See the Heartfield images at https://www.google.com/search?q=John+Heartfield:+the+meaning+of+the+Hitler+salute&biw=1600&bih=1028&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt4KvV-N7LAhVM6WMKHUPABGMQsAQIJg (accessed March 22, 2016).
- 9.
After bragging how his campaign was self-funded during the Republican primaries, Trump released a statement showing that much of the money he spent was paid into his own companies; see Nicholas Confessore and Sarah Cohen, “Donald Trump’s Campaign, Billed as Self-Funded, Risks Little of His Fortune.” The New York Times, February, 5, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/us/politics/donald-trumps-campaign-billed-as-self-funded-risks-little-of-his-fortune.html?_r=0 (accessed July 29, 2016). During the Fall Presidential election, Trump was forced to court donors and raise funds, thus undercutting his claims to be the only self-financing candidate.
- 10.
Famous Showman P.T. Barnum proclaimed that there is a sucker born every minute, and Trump’s suckers continued to fund him through his failed presidency and two impeachments, through the January 6, 2021 insurrection, and into his initial indictment on 42 felony charges. On how individuals join authoritarian movements and see the Leader as representing their grievances and solving their problems, see Lauren Langman and George Lundskow, “Escape From Modernity: Authoritarianism and the Quest for the Golden Age,” Paper delivered at “The Psychodynamics of Self & Society,” Eighth Annual ASA Mini-Conference, Seattle, August 18, 2016.
- 11.
Trump’s vision of Latin American immigrants pouring over the border into the U.S. is a fantasy, as studies have shown that more Mexicans are returning to Mexico after working in the U.S. than coming into the country, illegal or not; see Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, “More Mexicans Leaving Than Coming to the U.S. Net Loss of 140,000 from 2009 to 2014; Family Reunification Top Reason for Return.” November 19, 2015 at http://www.pewhispanic.org/2015/11/19/more-mexicans-leaving-than-coming-to-the-u-s/ (accessed September 3, 2016).
- 12.
MSee Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher, (2016) Trump Revealed: An American Journey of Ambition, Ego, Money, and Power. New York: Scribner, pp. 27–28. It was not clear from police and media reports whether Fred Trump was marching with the Klan or was just part of the crowd that got involved in a melee with the police.
- 13.
On the birther myth, see Michael D’Antonio, Never Enough. Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2015, pp. 283ff.
- 14.
Public Policy Polling reports that a “new poll finds that Trump is benefiting from a GOP electorate that thinks Barack Obama is a Muslim and was born in another country, and that immigrant children should be deported. 66% of Trump’s supporters believe that Obama is a Muslim to just 12% that grant he’s a Christian. 61% think Obama was not born in the United States to only 21% who accept that he was. And 63% want to amend the Constitution to eliminate birthright citizenship, to only 20% who want to keep things the way they are.” Public Policy Polling. “Trump Supporters Think Obama is A Muslim Born in Another Country,” September 01, 2015 at http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2015/08/trump-supporters-think-obama-is-a-muslim-born-in-another-country.html (accessed August 3, 2016).
- 15.
Nicholas Confessore and Karen Yourish, “$2 Billion Worth of Free Media for Donald Trump,” The New York Times, March 15, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/upshot/measuring-donald-trumps-mammoth-advantage-in-free-media.html?_r=0 (accessed August 6, 2016)and Robert Schroeder, “Trump has gotten nearly $3 billion in ‘free’ advertising.” Marketwatch, May 6, 2016 at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-has-gotten-nearly-3-billion-in-free-advertising-2016-05-06 (accessed August 6, 2016).
- 16.
On Trump’s business failures, see Note 16 above.
- 17.
At the Republican convention, Trump insisted that “you won’t hear any lies here,” For documentation of Trump’s Big and little lies, see Hank Berrien, “Lyin’ Donald: 101 Of Trump’s Greatest Lies,” Dailywire, April 11, 2016 at http://www.dailywire.com/news/4834/trumps-101-lies-hank-berrien (accessed August 8, 2016). Trump continued lying through his presidency and constructed his biggest Big Lie after losing to Joe Biden in the 2020 election, when he argued the election was stolen, a lie that prompted his followers to invade the Capitol on January 6, 2021 to try to block the legitimate transfer of power to Biden; see the January 6th Report at https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/GPO/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection (accessed March 30, 2023). Trump continues telling the Big Lie about the alleged “Steal” to this day.
- 18.
On Trump’s appeal to gun owners, see Daniel Hayes, “Donald Trump Takes Aim,” The New York Times, August 20, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/opinion/campaign-stops/donald-trump-takes-aim.html?_r=0 (accessed August 24, 2016).
- 19.
In an article subtitled “How the Christian right came to support a thrice-married adulterer,” see Daniel K. Williams “Why Values Voters Value Donald Trump,” The New York Times, August 20, 2016 at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/21/opinion/sunday/why-values-voters-value-donald-trump.html (accessed August 24, 2016).
- 20.
See Evan Osmos, “The Fearful and the Frustrated: Donald Trump’s nationalist coalition takes shape – for now” The New Yorker, August 31, 2015 at http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/31/the-fearful-and-the-frustrated (accessed July 22, 2016).
- 21.
Osmos, op. cit.
- 22.
On Fromm and “authoritarian idolatry,” see Sane Society, op. cit. p. 237 f.
- 23.
See Jackson Katz, Man Enough? Donald Trump, Hillary C, and the Politics of Presidential Masculinity. Northampton, Mass.: Interlink Publishing Company, 2016.
- 24.
In a classic example of Freudian projection, over the weekend of August 6–7, 2016, Trump accused Hillary Clinton of being unbalanced, coming unhinged, and being mentally unstable, previously the charges being deployed against Trump which we discuss below using Fromm’s categories. See Jose A. DelReal, “Trump, in series of scathing personal attacks, questions Clinton’s mental health,” Washington Post, Aug. 7, 2016 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/08/06/trump-in-series-of-scathing-personal-attacks-questions-clintons-mental-health/ (accessed August 10, 2016). In a speech in West Bend, Wisconsin, on August 16, 2016, Trump called Clinton a “bigot,” a charge frequently tossed at him.
- 25.
Media Matters Staff, “Ted Koppel Compares Donald Trump To Benito Mussolini. Koppel: Trump And Mussolini Both ‘Say Very Little In Terms Of Substance, But The Manner In Which They Say It Gets The Crowds Excited,’” Media Matters, December 16, 2015 at http://mediamatters.org/video/2015/12/16/ted-koppel-compares-donald-trump-to-benito-muss/207564 (accessed August 9, 2016).
- 26.
For my take on celebrity politics and the implosion of entertainment and politics in U.S. society, see Douglas Kellner, “Barack Obama, Media Spectacle, and Celebrity Politics” in A Companion to Celebrity, Edited by P. David Marshall and Sean Redmond. Malden, MA. and Oxford, UK. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015: 114–134. See also Mark Wheeler, Celebrity Politics. Cambridge, UK: Polity 2013.
- 27.
Marc Fisher, Will Hobson, “Donald Trump ‘pretends to be his own spokesman to boast about himself.’ Some reporters found the calls disturbing or even creepy; others thought they were just examples of Trump being playful.” The Independent, May 13, 2016 at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-pretends-to-be-his-own-spokesman-to-boast-about-himself-a7027991.html (accessed August 9, 2016).
- 28.
See the January 6 Committee Final Report at https://www.jan-6.com/january-6th-committee-final-report?gclid=Cj0KCQiAz9ieBhCIARIsACB0oGLFgFpTlbd6ZEkX-TkLbGwZ6qG40oEjXQpDKkAEtcOU7mGHKhEHVoAaAr-CEALw_wcB (accessed January 28, 2023).
- 29.
Joseph Gedeon, “Trump calls Putin ‘genius’ and ‘savvy’ for Ukraine invasion. The former president’s praise for Putin comes at a perilous geopolitical moment in Europe.” Politico, February 23, 2022 at https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/23/trump-putin-ukraine-invasion-00010923 (accessed January 27, 2023).
- 30.
“How Greg Rosalsky, “How Putin Conquered Russia’s Oligarchy,” March 29, 2022 at https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2022/03/29/1088886554/how-putin-conquered-russias-oligarchy (accessed on August 2, 2022).
- 31.
Stephen Eric Bronner, “The Better Part of Valour: Peace for Ukraine,” Progressive Post, July 15, 2022 at https://progressivepost.eu/the-better-part-of-valour-peace-for-ukraine/ (accessed January 27, 2023).
- 32.
See Lee Brown and Steven Nelson, “Trump posts disturbing baseball bat photo with Alvin Bragg, threatens ‘death and destruction,’” New York Post,” March 24, 2023 at https://nypost.com/2023/03/24/trump-shares-pic-holding-baseball-bat-near-das-head/ (accessed on March 31, 2023).
- 33.
See Charles Homans, “A Trump Rally, a Right-Wing Cause and the Enduring Legacy of Waco,” New York Times, March 24, 2023 at https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/24/us/politics/donald-trump-waco-branch-davidians.html (accessed March 31, 2023). For discussion of the Waco Branch Davidian spectacle and the subsequent Oklahoma City bombings, mass shootings, and rightwing movements that see Waco as a Holy Site in the extreme right’s Gun Wars and Religious Freedom Wars, see the analysis in Steven Best and Douglas Kellner, The Postmodern Adventure. Science, Technology, and Cultural Studies at the Third Millennium, New York and London: Guilford and Routledge, 2001.
- 34.
“Trump ‘Went to Waco to Bring Back Visions’ of Cult Leader David Koresh, Democratic Rep. Says. A Branch Davidian pastor also said that the former president was ‘making a statement’ with his choice of rally location.” Rolling Sone, March 26, 2023 at https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-waco-rally-david-koresh-cult-1234703923/ (accessed April 3, 2023).
- 35.
Isaac Stanley-Becker, “Calls for violence come from pro-Trump extremist website,” Washington Post, March 31, 2023 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/31/trump-indictment-new-york-news-updates/ (accessed March 31, 2023).
For an instructive catalogue of the MAGA Republican response to Trump’s indictment that echo Trump’s own latest phrases like “witch hunt” and “political prosecution” parroted again and again by the Repugs, and other tart examples of recent Republican “crazy talk” in response to Trump’s indictment, see Dana Milbank, “The GOP response to Trump is one hell of an indictment,” Washington Post, March 31, 2023 at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/31/house-gop-debates-public-urination/ (accessed March 31, 2023).
- 36.
Donald J. Trump cited in Kranisch and Fisher, op. cit., p. 94.
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Akande, A., Kellner, D. (2023). Donald Trump, Populism, and the Struggle to Save Democracy. In: Akande, A. (eds) U.S. Democracy in Danger. Springer Studies on Populism, Identity Politics and Social Justice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36099-2_1
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