Bullshit and Bravado

"Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation." So was the theme of Donald Trump's inauguration address, a speech that saw the inveterate rambler stick to his script and, a rarity for him, deliver something coherent and within the envelope of "normal" presidential speeches. As petulant and fragile as he is, Trump couldn't resist taking sideswipes at his predecessor - as he sat there clapping like a trained seal as per his constitutional duty. There were the lies, that he was overturning a tyranny, and restoring American sovereignty - as if Joe Biden's presidency has proven anything but a faithful servant of US corporate interests.

It's long been obvious that a second Trump term would entail naked, oligarchical rule. Behind the warm noises of being a "unifier" and a "peacemaker", his attacks on immigration, "foreign criminals", trans people, and the recognition of minorities by government institutions are megaphones for crack downs on the most marginalised and oppressed in US society. "Radical leftists" did not feature in Trump's roll call, but you can be sure that shutting out the right to be different will, as night follows day, include diversity of thought. All for the greater glory of America, you understand.

Yet there were some signs of one nation conservatism, that much abused canard, in Trump's address. He positively referenced African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans, he invoked the spirit of those he said had built the nation - the pioneers, the cowboys, the soldiers, the agricultural and autoworkers, a who's who of Uncle Sam's most masculine tropes. But inseparable from this was the baseless boosterism. This was day one of a new golden age, where America becomes the envy of the world and seeks to expand its frontiers. The acquiring-new-territory line might have raised some eyebrows, especially as Panama was referenced again, though Trump quickly passed on to adventures in space - including the stars and stripes on Mars.

What was different about this Trump as opposed to his 2017 vintage was the confidence, the comparative lack of tetchiness, and the annexation of hope to his project. It doesn't matter that unconstrained class rule is backward and a new round of social devastation is the likely consequence of big government cuts and deregulation, the proposed tariff programme, more fossil fuel extraction, and the coming assaults on democracy, accountability, and freedom. This speech was the recognition that scapegoating can only distract some of the people some of the time. Strapping SpaceX rocket boosters to reheated American exceptionalism is, for the audience at home, about exuding confidence and power, if not awe. "The impossible is what we do best", said Trump to a standing ovation.

Conquering the impossible, however, does not extend to the politically impossible. Cracks have already appeared in the Trump edifice over immigration, and between the oligarchical desire to gut the state and grassroots MAGA supporters dependent on social security to get by. And day one reminded us of the clash of egos too. Positive write ups of Trump's inauguration are threatened by Elon Musk's antics, who couldn't hold back his inner far right edgelord and saluted Hitler three times at a rally, earlier. Not exactly the cuddly One America vibes Trump's advisors want to convey for the moment.

To be sure, the second Trump presidency is a catastrophe in slow motion, an abject lesson in the failure of centrist managerialism. A taster of what much of Western Europe, including us, could look forward unless we're able to build rooted, mass alternatives to the politics of bullshit and bravado. The only people who can save us from this are ourselves.

Image Credit