In the aftermath of the Paris terror attacks last month, the intoxicating power of Donald Trump was on full blast in a clip that was largely lost in the fog of war.
Speaking with Fox’s Megyn Kelly, Marco Rubio suggested that stopping Islamic extremism is “about closing down any place – whether it’s a café, a diner, an internet site- anyplace where radicals are being inspired.” Perhaps Rubio truly believes his brand of “small government” should forcefully shutter Muslim businesses as an elegant display of quasi national security. However, this seems ideologically inconsistent with many of his recent statements and disastrous politics from by far the GOP’s best hope of attracting young independent voters.
The likelihood is the GOP’s wonderkid is puppeteered by the threat of alienating conservative stalwarts sprinting to the far right. Thus, he directly contradicted himself in a horrific blunder orchestrated by the omnipresence of Trump.
Welcome America to the dominant narrative and YUGE idea of 2016.
Of all the Trump scenarios, The Federalist has posited one that seems eerily on the road to unfolding. It’s becoming more and more essential reading by the day but the general gist forewarns the end of the classically liberal right in America. Trump becomes America’s Marine Le Pen and the GOP becomes a populist movement built on “white identity politics” unable to meaningfully drive the agenda. As a result, Democrats gain near carte blanche to push big government legislation that is unfathomable in our current political climate.
If this occurs to any extent, we’re looking at a seismic political shift. Looking into the crystal ball of 2016, it is hard to see anything else of this magnitude on the immediate horizon.
While Muslim Americans literally fear for their safety, a majority of Americans still cling to the luxury of being able to tune out Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric. Trump speaks and we cringe but are able to grab a beer and go about our business, ultimately unharmed.
This dynamic will shift early in 2016, particularly if Trump wins in Iowa on February 1. Stocks will rise and fall on Trumpisms and cross-cultural business deals will be strained as the titan of toupee invades our professional lives. A majority of Americans will begin to feel the existential threat posed by the Donald that is currently experienced by many minority groups.
In the wake of unanimous GOP condemnation of Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering our borders, the naïve optimism that “this could be the comment that does him in” returned. But we’ve played this game before. He was allegedly “done” when he scolded John McCain for being captured in Vietnam, and “fading” after this bizarre exchange with George Stephanopoulos. At this point, it seems like the guy could get away with saying Adele is “just an OK vocalist.”
As of this morning, Trump hit his high-water mark with 35% of Republicans saying he is their man in a New York Times/CBS poll. However, an even more telling poll comes from Bloomberg which finds nearly two-thirds of Republicans agree with Trump’s plan to refuse Muslims entry into the United States. More than any other statistic, this is the one that shows he isn’t going away soon.
Those who predict Trump’s downfall as inevitable miss the fundamental truth of his meteoric rise. They see Trump solely as a “supply-side” creation, a self-made ball of lies neatly packaged and sold to a disenfranchised portion of America who feels that immigrants have robbed the American Dream. The fact is that Trump is also a product of “demand-side” economics, the demand in this case for white identity politics built on fear.
Trump is a businessman who identified a market for vitriolic hate and came to market with the perfect product. If Trump 2016 was a startup, the product-market fit would be strong enough to make Marc Andreessen drool.
Arianna Huffington is no longer “entertained” but if her post or any other media outlet has any hope of slowing down the Trump blitzkrieg, it is dissipating by the day. Trump has the press headlocked in a Catch-22 where increased attention supplies oxygen for his fire but his legitimacy as a real possibility to win the nomination mandates coverage.
Missing from our generation is a Hunter S. Thompson who can hop into the mud and rumble with Trump down at his level. The New York Daily News has launched an admirable first strike but must be careful as this virus feeds on negative press and criticism. Additionally, too many efforts from the fourth estate have lazily conflated Trump as the flagbearer of GOP views, an imperfect association that lends credence to the “us vs. the media” narrative that Trump exploits beautifully.
Even if Trump goes loudly into that good night, (and every day that passes, when moves closer to if), the fervor he has stirred up will not soon subside. Remember, since Trump is born of organic demand, all he has done is publicize pain points felt by millions of Americans. And once dinner table beliefs move into the open forum, they tend to stay.
If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that for a pluralist system to function, all opinions must be on the table for discussion. Trump’s continued presence in 2016 will bring socially unpopular viewpoints into the light where they can be confronted head-on.
Finally, maybe our flirtation with ultimate narcissism will lead us as a nation to entirely re-evaluate the personality type we see fit for the presidency. We laud candidates for their rugged idealism and ability to stick to their guns when perhaps it is open-mindedness and ability to change one’s position in light of new evidence we should seek. Though not necessarily consciously, the American people have elected a half-century of presidents from both parties blessed with hubris and supreme confidence. Let’s hope 2016 becomes a step toward considering folks of compassion and humility for our highest office.
With vast developments in science, healthcare, technology and a predicted strong economy on tap, 2016 very well could be the year that makes America great again. But the "biggest idea" for 2016 is Donald John Trump Sr. and ultimately, what his popularity teaches Americans about ourselves.
KINGSMITH.
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