The
political and media establishments in the U.S. – which have jointly
wrought so much destruction, decay, and decadence – recently
decided to unite against Donald Trump. Their central claim is that
the real estate mogul and long-time NBC reality TV star advocates
morally reprehensible positions that are far outside the bounds of
decency; relatedly, they argue, he is so personally repellent that
his empowerment would degrade both the country and the presidency.
In some
instances, their claim is plausible: there is at least genuine
embarrassment if not revulsion even among America’s political class
over Trump’s proposed mass deportation of 11 million human beings,
banning of all Muslims from entering the country, and new laws to
enable him to more easily sue (and thus destroy) media outlets which
“falsely” criticize him. And his signature personality brew of
deep-seated insecurities, vindictive narcissism, channeling of the
darkest impulses, and gaudy, petty boasting is indeed uniquely
grotesque.
But in many
cases, probably most, the flamboyant denunciations of Trump by
establishment figures make no sense except as self-aggrandizing
pretense, because those condemning him have long tolerated if not
outright advocated very similar ideas, albeit with less rhetorical
candor. Trump is self-evidently a toxic authoritarian demagogue
advocating morally monstrous positions, but in most cases where elite
outrage is being vented, he is merely a natural extension of the
mainstream rhetorical and policy framework that has been laid, not
some radical departure from it. He’s their id. What establishment
mavens most resent is not what Trump is, does, or says, but what he
reflects: the unmistakable, undeniable signs of late-stage imperial
collapse, along with the resentments and hatreds they have long
deliberately and self-servingly stoked but which are now raging out
of their control.
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