Trumpian Populism and American Helplessness

Trumpian Populism

Infamous former President Donald Trump became wellknown during his time in office from 2017 to 2021 for his inflammatory rhetoric and the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) campaign. Now, we see him raising up the polls again and possibly becoming the GOP candidate on the 2024 ballot. He has introduced his own version of authoritarian populism into political conversations: “Trumpian Populism.” Trump builds his image around the notion of grand illusions of a better future, most apparent in his slogan “Make America Great Again.” This grand illusion is an unattainable future reality that is unconditionally positive for the followers of the leader who promises it. Trump’s chosen illusions are those where individuals, institutions, and other groups who do not agree with his ideologies are eradicated.

These followers attribute charisma to their leaders, causing them to identify with him, become committed to his vision, and work diligently to make this vision become a reality. It was not important that Trump’s many attempts to codify his xenophobic, racist, and homophobic ideas were failures – for instance, the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. It was the fact that Trump was so successful in inspiring fear in Americans. When Trump spoke, the people listened. Trump himself does not inspire fear, but his idea of what America has become does for countless Americans. These Americans believe the country was better in the past, when ‘true patriotism’ was common, when heroes were celebrated rather than victims, and most of all, when everyone loved America, as outlined in Anne Applebaum’s book Twilight of Democracy. Instead of moving America forward, these people are focused on moving it backward, regressing it to its once great state. Donald Trump fills Americans’ minds with the possibilities of more immigration, less homogeneity, and more governmental lies. He inspires fear and a lack of faith in American institutions, which leads to Americans losing sight of the principles of American democracy. Of course, Americans might have supported Trump and not fallen into this group. They could have simply hated the other option, Hillary Clinton, or only agreed with him on a certain stance, such as abortion.

Trump, however, does have something that many of his blue competitors, and even red competitors, do not: the ability to clearly state his position on a matter without fearing the repercussions. He has found a way to make it seem as if his failures are not his fault but the other party, another entity, or the systems they play into.

Most importantly, though, Donald Trump was not a politician. Before 2015, his political activity was minimal, with a few speeches, a couple of comments, and a handful of rumors. Trump is an entertainer and a businessman. He knows how to appeal to people and how to garner popularity. Trump capitalizes off of his lack of political experience and paints himself as any other common American (though he is unfathomably richer than any of us). He criticizes the “elites in Washington” as the reason for American hardships and explains how he can be the difference since he is not one of these political elites. Essentially, he is one of us, and don’t we want one of our own in power?

The Candidates

Trump has had such a profound impact on the GOP that we can see his impacts on the 2024 presidential candidates. Though Trump still leads the polls as the favorite with 56 percent, it’s fascinating to watch as Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and Vivek Ramaswamey battle it out for second favorite.

It’s especially interesting as DeSantis, once thought to be a viable contender and worthy candidate of Trump a mere six months ago, now has 40 percentage points between himself and Trump compared to ten in mid February. So what happened?

DeSantis

Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, is similar to Trump in a lot of ways – his political leanings and ideologies, his rhetoric, and his use of populist techniques. In fact, he is so similar that he has made this similarity an integral part of his presidential campaign. From his first campaign for Florida governor in 2018 to only very recently, DeSantis has praised Trump’s policies and political tactics and marketed himself as pursuing Trump’s “Great America.” He even secured himself an endorsement from Trump himself, leading him to his gubernatorial victory in 2018. He actualized his words of promise and enacted notable education policies, including the “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, the Anti-”WOKE” Act, and revision of public curriculum. DeSantis has established his spot within the center of the conservative party, which is already on board with Trump, and has tried to appeal to the larger GOP. It seems as if this campaign would be successful –show he can be as influential and effective as Trump is in carrying out his vision for America, and then explain how he can reconcile and avoid Trump’s downfalls.

However, Trump has also recognized this inside-out strategy and thus attacked DeSantis most out of all the other candidates, hurting his potential to appeal to an audience outside of the MAGA conservative center. Haley Haley, a former UN ambassador, has taken the opposite approach. Haley made a name for herself first with the larger GOP and has only recently moved into the conservative center. She’s worked to gain support from non-Trump supporters. However, even as she becomes more and more favorable to the MAGA base, she is still not preferable to Trump or even DeSantis. So, from outside the MAGA base, she is favored, but within, she still has a long way to go. Both DeSantis and Haley are playing losing hands, that much is clear, but DeSantis’ strategy might be a much bigger loss than just a presidential nomination. Ramaswamy, and Others

Since Haley has not really shown herself to be a formidable opponent to Trump (at least, not to the same level as DeSantis), it’s understandable to assume she might be playing a longer game, much like Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy is a known entrepreneur and a political newcomer, much as Trump was in 2015. Ramaswamy announced his candidacy in late February 2023, with his main position being on the separation of government from business.

Since then, he has shown how he believes the GOP can be strengthened by appealing to younger generations and how the American people want a young leader - someone like him. Where DeSantis is similar to Trump in his policy initiatives and distrust of American institutions, Ramaswamy employs uncannily similar rhetoric to Trump. He separates himself from the political elites, even attacking Trump himself and fellow candidates DeSantis and Haley, and he pushes a “new American dream” that new generations can attain. Additionally, he attacks other candidates aggressively, something Americans will recall of Trump’s debate tactics. And it’s working. From being an unknown in March to a considerable likely in November after the debates, Ramaswamy shows us yet again that Trumpian tactics work.

Conclusion

This being said, Ramaswamy will not win the nomination. Haley will not win the nomination. DeSantis will not win the nomination. Neither will Tim Scott or Chris Christie, who have made much less noise. Haley and Ramaswamy might be favored for cabinet positions or other powerful appointments, whereas DeSantis will not. But as it stands, Trump is most likely to receive the Republican nomination, and we will relive 2020 over as we watch incumbent President Joe Biden, who is recently under fire for his support of the Palestinian genocide, and former President Donald Trump, who is currently dealing with several legal inquiries and possible jail time, go headto-head for the presidency of a very broken country.

I’m not sure how to argue in favor of a system that allows these to be our two options. Biden was put into office by voters who thought him to be the lesser of two evils. And is it not depressing and unforgiving to live in a country where the leader has to simply be “the better option” and not the best option? We have Trump running for office again, and people who are encouraging him, when we quite literally watched him incite an insurrection on the Capitol. There are talks of Project 2025, a Republican movement and campaign that essentially criminalizes anyone who does not exist as they do– as white, heterosexual, cissexual, with two kids, a dog, and white picket fence. As we fear for our future as non-white, queer, and religiously diverse individuals, we stand by presently and watch as our Democrat Commander-in-Chief uses our tax dollars to fund genocide and as our self-declared liberal peers, loved ones, and idols turn a blind eye to the destruction of Palestinian livelihood. This is the system we live in, where we have to either give up personal safety within our own country or endorse the murders of Black and brown lives abroad. I don’t know how I’m going to vote in 2024. I don’t know how I’m supposed to make this decision. I fear for what might become of my future, but I am horrified and helpless at what is happening in Gaza, in Sudan, in Congo, in Tigray right now.

I am ashamed to live in one of the most powerful nations of the world that abuses this influence to perform actions of neocolonialism and that holds money to be more important than humanity.

Trump is marketed to be a man of the people, but which people? He picks and he chooses, and they pick and choose him back. It’s depressing and petrifying to know that my life, as a queer, nonwhite woman, is less valuable to Trump and his followers. That not only will he not protect me, but he will actively rally for my destruction. And so, assuming Trump will probably win the Republican nomination, we are faced with the same hell that was the 2020 Presidential election. Most of us will probably still vote for Biden because the electoral college renders third party candidates inconsequential. We recognize that Trump would take very similar, if not more extreme, steps to addressing the Palestinian genocide, and we elect to hopefully preserve our rights at home if the rights of others will be violated with either candidate. This is American helplessness. When the president is supposed to be of, by, and for the people and yet is none of the above. Instead, he is of the elites (the minority), by an obsolete system, and for the maximization of capital.