Popular Trump

Donald Trump looks all set to become the Republican candidate for this year’s US presidential elections in November. His victory in Tuesday’s (January 23) New Hampshire primary over former South Carolina governor, and former US ambassador to the UN during Trump’s presidency, Nikki Haley has all but assured that he will be the one to challenge incumbent US President Joe Biden. Though experts claim that Haley performed better than the polls predicted, Trump was the clear victor, with the former governor trailing Trump by just over 11 per cent of the vote. This latest win comes on the back of a landslide victory in Iowa and though Nikki Haley seems intent to keep fighting, experts say that the upcoming states in the Republican primary schedule tilt even more heavily in favour of Trump. Thus, what is left of the contest appears to be little more than a formality.

One could even argue that the Republican primary was over before it began. Although Trump has spent much of his time since losing the presidency to Biden back in 2020 mired in legal trouble, this has done little to dent his popularity among conservative voters in the US. It is hard to keep track of all the cases facing the former reality TV star, with charges ranging from fraud to illegally retaining classified documents and election subversion, but he has managed to turn cases that would end most political careers into an asset that may prolong his. In a jarring display of this dynamic, after being booked in Atlanta, Georgia jail last year, Trump used his mugshot to raise millions of dollars, with his campaign selling merchandise showcasing the mugshot and the tagline “NEVER SURRENDER!”. The tagline encapsulates the spirit that animates Trump’s campaign as he portrays the cases as a shadowy conspiracy launched by the ‘establishment’ to derail his political career. Trump has become notorious for questioning the honesty, impartiality and patriotism of his accusers, particularly those involved in government. In an increasingly polarized America with declining levels of trust in institutions, these narratives have helped make Trump a cult-hero among those who feel left behind by a globalized USA.

To his supporters, Trump is the man sticking it to ‘the man’. The fanatical nature of some of Trump’s following was on full display when a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC, after Trump falsely claimed his defeat in the 2020 presidential elections was illegitimate. Such displays of political turmoil are considered unprecedented in a nation that considers itself to be the world’s custodian of democracy and human rights. However, to some extent, Trump can be seen to represent America’s chickens coming home to roost. Turmoil and authoritarian leaders are often a US export to the rest of the world, particularly the Global South. Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza shows just how little rights and norms count for the US beyond its borders. However, these exports, after the failed US occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, have begun to cost the US increasingly more in blood and treasure. Meanwhile, the predatory economic model the West has championed has begun to bite their own people, with rising inequality and a shrinking middle class. This has created fertile ground for Trump’s style of populist-authoritarianism. It would appear that many Americans are willing to take their chances with a man who falsely claims that he was robbed of the presidency in 2020 and whose supporters attempted to overturn said election in his favour. Democratic norms would seem to have become a peripheral concern now that times are tough and the US looks increasingly likely to endure the kind of ruler it often backs in poorer countries.