The Interpreter

A new era of strongman leadership puts the advancement of international cooperation in doubt.

In this context, material circumstances – declining standards of living, aggravated by the belief that immigrants or hostile powers are at least partly responsible, for example – may help to provide the sense of common cause with others in the same identitarian boat. The fact that Trump’s oratory is incoherent, contradictory or inconsistent is of no concern.

The most alarming aspect of the contemporary American experience is that Trump’s triumph and methodology have been embraced by formerly conservative, mainstream Republicans and even Christian evangelicals, and are now seen as the key to electoral success. Smarter people than Trump will ensure that this political dominance will be entrenched through institutional reforms and appointments, directly threatening the future of democracy in the United States.