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‘Trump is a symptom, and now the strangely apt figurehead, of a society in profound crisis.’ Photograph: ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock
‘Trump is a symptom, and now the strangely apt figurehead, of a society in profound crisis.’ Photograph: ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Mourn the election outcome now. Then stand up and protect American values

This article is more than 7 years old

These are dark and dangerous times, for which the US has now chosen a dark and dangerous leader. It is up to us to ensure our freedoms remain intact

When Donald Trump declared his candidacy last year, most people thought it hilarious, a spoof-filled spillover from television into reality. Few were laughing as loudly at the Republican debates in March of this year. The unthinkable slowly, inexorably, became the inevitable.

How could members of the Republican party not have stopped this train wreck before it started? How could a demagogue of such staggering proportions, a man with no previous Republican affiliation, take that party’s nomination? The answer, of course, lies in the profound divisions by which that party was already riven.

Polarization in American politics has been increasingly profound and destructive (the late Janet Reno was the last attorney general to be unanimously confirmed by both parties, in 1993, 23 years ago). Historically, Democrats were the voice of the working classes; but already from 1964 onwards (with the passage of the Civil Rights Act), southern Democrats turned increasingly to the Republican party.

In the past 20 years, the Democrats have come to be seen by many white working-class voters, particularly in the south and midwest, as a coterie of coastal elites against whom working people need to rebel. Many senior members of the traditional Republican party proved upon examination not substantially different.

Enter the Tea Party Republicans, who organized their rebellion in the wake of President Obama’s election in 2008. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz are members of this group. Voicing frustration with Washington DC’s establishment, often devoutly Christian, plainspoken, protectionist, these politicians activated a core conservative population.

But why has Trump so captivated the imaginations – and hearts – not only of this new stripe of conservative voters but also of an additional contingent of formerly apathetic white, working-class citizens?

Consider the longevity, breadth and cost of American military commitments abroad. Or the stagnation and decline of the middle classes over the past 20 years, as manufacturing jobs have vanished overseas. Add to that the fear of terrorism; disquiet at heightened racial tensions and the Black Lives Matter movement; and stress upon the social fabric caused by the opioid epidemic – itself a symptom of profound hopelessness in middle America. Now, contrast that to much publicized liberal gains such as the supreme court’s support for gay marriage, or Obama’s presidential order, last summer, regarding transgender bathrooms. In hindsight, a backlash seems to have been inevitable.

Trump will be the first US president never to have either held public office or served in the military: a television showman and a boom-and-bust businessman (whose many failures and brushes with the law have somehow been stricken from the public memory). On The Apprentice, Trump played a successful leader and businessman as convincingly as George Clooney once played a doctor on ER; but whereas most Americans would easily understand that Clooney was not the man to take on their triple bypass, they seem not to have recognized the gap between being a genuine leader and acting one on television.

Needless to say, for many of us, the situation is profoundly alarming. It was challenging enough to live through the George W Bush years, in which a man with little experience and questionable leadership skills was called upon to confront great national and international trials. But Bush, compared to this man, was a prince.

Trump, with his petulant, impulsive and erratic temperament; his short attention span and his failure to learn about the actual issues; his lack of experience and his lack of gravitas, dignity or respect for the truth, strikes terror in the hearts of progressive humanitarians the world over. The future of international diplomacy and the balance of the US supreme court will be in Trump’s hands. For women, minorities and immigrants in this country, the news is bleak: a racist, xenophobic misogynist will now preside over us.

One can’t help but reflect that Americans of both genders powerfully hate women: Hillary Clinton, the most qualified candidate in history, has lost to the least qualified candidate. Personally, I’m in mourning today for many reasons; but having lost the prospect of having a deeply experienced, fiercely intelligent, strong female leader is high on the list. My fellow Americans would apparently rather be grabbed by the pussy. It’s useful to know where you stand.

I happened to be in the UK in June at the time of the Brexit vote: shock and disbelief pervaded every interaction in the days after. In the months since, divisions fomented by the vote have only sharpened and grown more rancorous. Alas, this will be true in the US.

Trump is a symptom, and now the strangely apt figurehead, of a society in profound crisis. Peddling cultureless capitalism, blinkered jingoism, vulgar insults, Trump has promised to “make America great again”, plucking at a hazy nostalgia akin to that which turned disenfranchised Brits to Brexit.

As he sets about building walls and shutting doors, Trump won’t have much time for Lady Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free … Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

These are dark and dangerous times, for which Americans have now chosen a dark and dangerous leader. It is incumbent upon each of us who believes in unity, fellowship, progress and internationalism to keep Lady Liberty’s lamp alight.

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