Articles
The Trumpism phenomenon: a reading of the pillars and continuity
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Author: Akram Al-Sayed
Research Assistant in the International Affairs Unit
Translated by: Abdelrahman Mohamed Anwar
Research Assistant in the International Affairs Unit
In the context of the great victory of US President-elect Donald Trump, against Democratic Representative Kamala Harris, the Trumpism phenomenon returns to the fore again, specifically on the twentieth of January next year, which will witness the official inauguration of the Republican administration, a phenomenon that was clearly formed in the first presidential term of “Trump”, as it suffered a major failure following the defeat by Democratic President Joe Biden, in the 2020 elections, which came in light of the global coronavirus pandemic and the turbulent economic conditions, but it soon succeeded in remarketing itself to American society, leading to victory in the last US presidential election.
The phenomenon of Trumpism is one of the most prominent political phenomena that have sparked controversy in the United States and the world during the last decade, as Trumpism has exceeded the personality of Donald Trump to turn into a political doctrine, rooted in a crisis social and political reality, characterized by distrust of traditional institutions and growing discontent with the ruling political class,
and this phenomenon emerged in a global context witnessing the rise of populism, relying on a different discourse and a charismatic personality, which succeeded in attracting large sectors of American society.
In this context, several questions are raised about this phenomenon: What are the pillars of this phenomenon? How did it arise? Will it continue to influence after the Trump era ends?
Trumpism: definition and origin
Trumpism is a political phenomenon that emerged with the rise of Donald Trump to the American political arena, and has grown into a social and cultural movement that extends beyond his individual personality; Trumpism can be defined as a mixture of right-wing populism and nationalism; Trump focused on a discourse that opposes traditional political elites, and expresses the discomfort of a large segment of the American people about the impact of globalization, immigration, and alleged threats from liberal institutions.
It should be noted that the ideas promoted by Trump such as “isolationism”, prioritizing the United States at the expense of any relations or alliances that may drain the United States, are in their entirety not considered the result of the moment, but rooted for many years in the American political context, and one of the most prominent signs of this is the vision of former US President Andrew Jackson, nearly two hundred years ago, who believed that the country should not intervene in a foreign conflict except in the case of defending itself only[1], much like Trump’s advocacy, it can be said that this set of ideas needed a charismatic political personality to adopt it and then remarket it to American society in a bolder and less conservative context than before, which Trump succeeded in remarkably, based on his background as a businessman in the first place.
With the beginning of the new millennium, there are factors that helped pave the way for Trumpism, at the forefront of this large presence of the pro-globalization current in contrast to the presence of other nationalist currents opposed to it, which resulted in a great state of political polarization, and the global financial crisis of 2008 had a great impact on the feeling of frustration of many Americans, especially the white working classes, with the political elite that they considered responsible for the deterioration of their economic and social conditions, and the media, especially the social media, played a pivotal role in spreading Trump’s ideas and attracting supporters, through a simple and direct discourse that touches on issues of interest to ordinary Americans, so it can be said that Trumpism is the result of the interaction of several economic, social, and cultural factors, represented by the increase in populist movements around the world, especially in America, where traditional politics prevented the achievement of the radical change that large segments of society aspired to.
Trumpism: characteristics and features
There are basic pillars on which Trumpism is based, by delving into them, it is possible to infer the behavior of the United States towards various major issues, and these pillars largely determined the nature of the behavior of the United States in Trump’s first term, and now with his awaited return, it appears on the surface again with the approach of the beginning of the second presidential term to determine the political behavior of the White House again, and from here, the most prominent pillars that formed this phenomenon and distinguished it from other political movements can be identified: –
1- Anti-traditional media
Traditional media hostility was one of the main pillars of the Trumpism phenomenon, as Trump adopted an unprecedented approach in communicating with the American public, away from traditional media channels, and instead of using official press conferences or traditional media statements, Trump relied on the Twitter platform (currently X) as the main means of announcing his administration’s decisions, and expressing his opinions on domestic and international issues, this approach allowed him to bypass critical coverage of traditional media, which often described what he presents as fake news, Accusing him of distorting the facts to serve hostile agendas, even when Twitter banned his account after the riots on January 6, 2021, he did not back down from his approach, and launched his own platform “Truth Social” to be an alternative that reflects his vision of free media and unrestricted by media elites[2].
2- A mixture of populism and nationalism
Populist discourse based on provoking patriotic feelings played a pivotal role in consolidating Trumpism’s position within American society, as Trump relied on portraying himself as a representative of the people against political and media elites, taking advantage of the feelings of frustration and anger among large segments of Americans who felt marginalized, in contrast, Trump did not hesitate to criticize the democratic approach based on pluralism and cultural diversity, considering that the policies he pursues undermine the system of national ideas, threaten the unity of the American nation, and Trump invested his populist rhetoric in the service of his nationalist orientation, so that a first-class populist and nationalist relationship arises, and perhaps this was reflected in his official speech, with his continuous call to make national interests the first priority in the United States in its domestic and international issues, even if this leads to strained relations with traditional allies, and then Trump viewed the policy of alliances and international commitments negatively, considering that it depletes the country’s capabilities and weakens its economy, which may be in the interest of competitors such as “China and Russia”, this nationalist orientation he stood out in his slogan “America First,” which embodied the principle of putting American interests above any other considerations.
3- Isolationism
Isolationism emerged as a natural consequence of the primacy of the national interest and the desire that the United States would not bear any cost that comes from its participation in any military actions outside the country’s borders or any agreements or alliances that may place a burden on the economy, in this context, Trumpism has sought to take back thousands of American soldiers from various locations around the world and rely on regional allies to carry out the American role[3], and in a related context, Washington has also withdrawn from several international commitments, perhaps foremost of which is the withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement[4], so it can be said that any action that will result in not achieving real benefit for the United States will not be supported by the White House, and those who need Washington’s support must bear the cost of that.
4- Protectionism
Protectionism is about protecting American economic interests without regard to any interests or partnerships, it may be affected as a result of Washington’s exaggeration of its economic protectionism; as a result, Trumpism has increased the size of tariffs on imports coming[5] to it, in an effort to do two things: the first is to protect the local industry and enhance its economic capabilities, and the second is to attract many investors to build their factories and companies within the territory of the United States, which will reflect positively on the country’s economic indicators, this approach disregard the free market economy and globalization, as it contradicts the open market policies between Washington and its allies on the one hand, and contributes to disrupting the growth of the economies of Washington’s competitors – led by China – on the other hand; the priority is only to protect the US economy without taking into account any consequences that may harm others.
5- Deals Policy
Perhaps this is the pillar that distinguishes Trump and tops his political doctrine as a main pillar; he is a businessman who came from outside the traditional political establishment, and did not separate his behavior as a businessman from his behavior as president of the United States of America, as what drives him in the first place – whether in domestic or external issues – is the concept of a winning deal and pure pragmatism; by taking into account the pillar of the “deal”, it is possible to understand the justifications for Trump’s behavior towards various issues as a man of deals in the first place rather than a politician.
The Future of Trumpism Post-Trump
Most of the analysis in the wake of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, went to confirm the end of the future of Trumpism, and that the chances of Trump’s return to the White House have largely disappeared, and despite this, the years following Trump’s departure have witnessed major successes, the most prominent of which is his return to the American political arena, in a gradual manner until reaching the moment of victory against Harris, in this context we conclude two things: –
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The Continued Influence of Trumpism
The ideas expressed by Trumpism are still popular within American society, gaining great support among large sectors, and it is not easy to change them among American voters, reflecting the depth and rootedness of the ideas that Trumpism represents.
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Transcending Trumpism