Trump did not corrupt American politics; he exposed it. His
vulgar language, narcissism, and open contempt for norms were treated as
shocking deviations, when in reality they stripped away the hypocrisy that had
long defined the American political class. Previous presidents were better
spoken, better groomed, and far more dangerous. Trump merely said aloud what
others executed quietly.
America loves to boast of its wealth, power, and moral
leadership. Yet it ranks poorly on almost every measure of social well-being
among developed nations. Its middle class is shrinking, its prisons are full,
its cities decay behind corporate skyscrapers, and its wars have left entire
regions in ruins. Trump did not create this decay; he became its loudest
symptom.
From South Asia and the Middle East, Trump’s worldview was
instantly recognizable. We have seen strongmen before—men who confuse volume
with authority and cruelty with strength. His Islamophobic travel bans,
diplomatic bullying, and transactional foreign policy were predictable, not
surprising. What was astonishing was America’s theatrical outrage, as if this
behavior had no roots in its own imperial history.
The American establishment preferred to obsess over Trump’s
manners rather than confront its own crimes. It was easier to mock his
vocabulary than to admit that earlier administrations destroyed Libya,
destabilized the Middle East, enriched corporations, and abandoned their own
citizens—all while maintaining respectable language.
I could read Donald Trump because I was never seduced by the
American myth. Many Americans were. Trump shattered that illusion, and instead
of facing the mirror, they blamed the reflection.
That Donald Trump became president is troubling. That
America still refuses to accept what he revealed about itself is far worse.
