Trump’s Victory Is Our Nightmare Too — What Europe Must Do Now

–OpEd-

BERLIN — It happened. Donald Trump’s victory is a nightmare come true — not only for Democratic voters in the U.S., but also for many of us in Germany and beyond. Ahead lie four years of uncertainty, four years of insults, four years of fear.

Outside of Ukraine and the Baltic states — who have every reason to be concerned, given Trump’s laissez-faire approach to Russia— no other country views Trump with more apprehension than Germany.

But now, in the cold light of his triumph, it’s clear that this re-election was not some kind of unpredictable twist in American history. This time, everyone knew what they were signing up for; and yet, Trump won with an unexpectedly decisive majority. A bitter pill to swallow is the fact that, this time, the Republicans achieved unprecedented support across nearly all ethnic groups and social classes. They even managed to make significant inroads among younger voters.

Trump’s victory shows that his support goes beyond his core base — the diehard loyalists who eagerly accept his falsehoods and overlook his chaotic mindset, his disdain for women, his calls to violence, his threats of vengeance against political opponents, his bullying of democratic institutions, and his stance on deporting immigrants.

Fed up

From what we know, many who supported him are simply fed up with the current economic situation. High inflation, soaring living costs, and rising rent prices in cities, particularly in medium and large urban centers — all of it has left people weary.

This is what played the biggest role in the election, despite President Joe Biden’s many economic policy successes, including his two major investment packages and his fight against unemployment.

Voters didn’t really buy into Kamala Harris’ proposed solutions for the inflation crisis, they believed she was too close to the Biden administration and asked themselves: why mess it up first and then fix it?

In addition, Harris hadn’t been a prominent figure in the Biden government and many voters did not even remember what her face looked like on the day Biden resigned, which is quite surprising if you consider she had served more than three years as vice president.

In any case, one cannot quite shake the suspicion that many Americans still cannot accept a woman as president, especially a black one.

Lie, lie and lie again, to the point that many voters can no longer tell the difference between lies and truth.

Yet here we are: the supposed champion of the poor is a textbook definition of the ruthless capitalist. This irony is not unique to America but echoes across many industrialized nations where the downsides of globalization, unchecked financial markets, and open borders have sparked a longing for nationalism and autocracy. Paradoxically, this longing is often personified by politicians who once stood as staunch supporters of globalization capitalism.

His superpower

What’s even more surprising is that many people find his rhetoric — a permanent declaration of distrust towards those who consider civilized language to be an achievement of humanity — to be particularly authentic and down-to-earth.

And that’s Trump’s superpower, his most dangerous weapon, the technique he perfected and used like no other: lie, lie and lie again, to the point that many voters in the United States can no longer tell the difference between lies and truth.

If there is one thing that can be learned from the rise of Trumpism, it’s this: democratic-minded parties must do better if they want to prevent autocratic populists from gaining the strength and power they now have in the U.S. They need to address the problems that make people angry and then lead to their radicalization, and not just shortly before the elections. Otherwise, it will be too late.

There is a tipping point after which the populists become impossible to stop.

There is a tipping point after which the populists become impossible to stop. Their so-called information channels reach more and more followers. Omnipotent and wealthy donors, no longer ashamed because they no longer have to fear reputational or economic damage, jump on the bandwagon: their hour is coming for opportunists like Elon Musk.

The United States is way past the tipping point.

Are we past that point, too? Europe and Germany had four years to prepare for the worst-case scenario during the Biden administration — economically and in terms of defense policy. But even the most optimistic observer would be hard-pressed to say they’ve done enough.

All that remains for us after this election is a commitment to ourselves. It’s our last call to support, strengthen and value what is good in our country and in Europe. Otherwise, Trump’s victory will extend far beyond the United States.