If you are a Trump supporter, it will matter little the way in which he won the presidency: you will be celebrating his victory, embracing the theory that the ends justify the means. However, if you are one of the 70 percent or more of registered voters who did not vote for Trump, prospects for better days seem bleak.
Trump controls the presidency, Republicans who embrace the Trump agenda control the U.S. House and Senate, and Republican appointed judges – three of whom were appointed by Trump and will protect him and his political agenda – control the U.S. Supreme Court. As we shall see shortly, this level of control makes it nearly impossible for people interested in reform to address needed structural changes, much less mitigate the general distrust of American institutions or curb the propensity for American voters to embrace a populism that promote persons and personalities over policy.
However, if a person can put aside the difficulties presented by Trump’s reelection and what that means for the next four years, it is possible to see a way through it. Analyzing what Trump’s reelection reveals about the American Republic, it becomes possible to not just diagnosis its ills but also to discover the means to strategically address and design a more inclusive democratic system both in the short- and long-term.
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Image of the Future
Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash