The unstoppable solipsist | Eurozine

It is safe to predict that the second Trump presidency will decline as the most divisive ever in American history. Everything you need to say about the first six months has already been said. All we can do is track down the massacre.

The most visible damage is the institutional infrastructure of the United States itself. The devastation of the federal government, courts, the education system, the media and many other sectors that are essential to life in general is nothing but horrifying.

The Department of Education is broken, with nearly $7 billion being cut for school lunches and after-school programs. Columbia University was forced to pay $200 million to an administration that allegedly failed to prevent anti-Semitism, the basis given to the March national funding freeze, in its president’s efforts to weaken and humiliate the centre of higher education. There have been reports that Harvard is ready to pay $500 million for the same reasons (although the university is said to be reconsidering). The presidents of Columbia and the University of Virginia have already resigned. More heads are going to roll.

National Public Radio and Television, The Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Asia have lost all of their government support over $5 billion. The public corporation for public broadcasting that manages funds has been closed, with many local radio stations in particular in rural areas at risk of closure.

Federal Medical Insurance and Food Assistance Program (so-called snap programs) have it Lost A considerable amount of support. Combined with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health decimation and many subsequent refusals. vaccinehospitals can be hit by a flood of patients suffering from everything from measles to hoop coughs to flu and covid.

Funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been cut by 20%, resulting in a shortage of emergency workers. Recent floods in Texas, and Incompetent Responds appropriately to the crisis, causing 120 deaths, Resignation FEMA Director – at the beginning of the Wildfire season.

Most spectacular is the masked agent from ice (immigration and customs enforcement), restaurants, schools and court. Both citizens and undocumented immigrants were arrested, deported and sent to foreign prisons without legitimate procedures – a police state signature. There was an isolated case of resistance The public generally complies with deportation.

Meanwhile, the judiciary continues to be acquiesced. Lower courts opposed deportation and dismissal of federal employees, but the Supreme Court has held in a series of “emergency rulings.” Allowed The administration proceeds to proceed while deliberating on the merits of the case. One is especially the Supreme Court. decision The decision, taken over by a U.S. District Court judge, found that it would only apply to the states where the judgment is issued, undermining attempts by civil rights groups to file a lawsuit against the administration.

All of this goes without saying about the free insult that occurs when the president’s rage runs particularly high: see him decision To withdraw the name of a gay rights advocate from a naval ship, he Accusations treason by former Presidents Obama and Hillary Clinton, or his extraordinary statement In a television interview, the president may not be bound by respecting the constitution. “You have to ask your lawyer,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer.” (In the same interview, Trump has opened up the possibility of becoming a third-term president, banned by the constitution, allowing him to take military action against Canada and Greenland.

At moments like this, Trump’s intelligence and sanity issues become irrelevant. Whether he is stupid or Canny, whether his actions are controlled by impulses or by secret plans – nothing other than the scope of his monopoly. Even if millions of Americans are pushed into daily headlines, these angers remind us that we are ruled by whimsical, power-obsessed narcissists.

And it seems no one can stop him.

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Opposition to Trump’s continued growth Owned As for the government, it has not grown in the past few months. Street protests over Trump’s call for the Los Angeles National Guard have become a whim. Trump’s opponents aren’t even close to finding a way to make them feel opposed.

None of the Democrats have appeared to express the anger that their members feel. If anything, the party is even more divided. The Muslim progressive Zoran Mamdani, the latest winner of the Democratic mayoral primary in New York City, is also opposed by former Democratic governor and current mayor. Rather than unifying behind newcomers, who were the clear choices of electors, the party’s hacks are joking for power.

At this point, there are only two faint hopes of opposition to Trump. Both are because Trump supporters demand against him.

The first involves the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Given his supporters lack of concern over Trump’s own record Sexual abuseyou may not think his friendship with the pimp in society would raise eyebrows. However, the key element appears to be Epstein’s prejudice against minors. In the list of basic sins on the far right, pedophilia is at the top.

The reason for this obsession is not entirely clear. recently New York Times article “Pizzagate” – Hillary Clinton attempts to reach the bottom of the question, citing “Pizzagate,” which appears to be involved with the devil’s cult.^th century. But the real reason may be buried in the past of the American Puritans. CrucibleArthur Miller’s erotic fantasy of Salem Witch Trials is probably closest to explaining the charm and fibrous membranes of pedophilia in the United States.

Whatever the reason, this issue is plaguing Maga voters. House Speaker Mike Johnson has closed his home to avoid a vote to release Epstein-related material. The controversy continues. This is led by Representative Marjorie Taylor Green, one of Trump’s most solid supporters. The Epstein case not only complains to Greene and other far-right Republicans about the administration’s lack of transparency, but also appeals to Trump’s stance on the war in Ukraine, allowing them to cut down on benefits such as healthcare and food stamps that hurt MAGA components.

Sometimes Trump seemed a bit rattling. He issued a contradictory statement about how much Epstein material the Department has and whether it will be released. And he sues Wall Street Journal Over allegations that he sent Epstein erotic graffiti. Githlane Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned partner in crime, said she would testify before a Congressional committee only to assure the president’s generosity.

There are lots of questions. Does the complaints about Trump’s handling of the Epstein case show a more drastic mood on the right? Is Taylor Green’s sudden justice sincere or is she jokingly hoping for power and influence? Does anyone really think Trump will allow the Justice Department to reveal harmful information about his sexual conduct?

The second, potentially important grievances, is related to inflation. Recent statistics show only a small increase in inflation, but Central America is not doing well. Medicine and housing costs remain high. Employment growth has slowed significantly. Sky-High tariffs promise to raise prices. Coupled with millions of people losing healthcare and food stamp benefits, prices may scale and convince some Trump Magazine supporters to think twice about their heroes.

Or maybe not.

The real danger is that Trump has no consistent vision for the country’s future. Armed only with his intention to destroy American institutions and prevent foreign goods (and people) from entering the United States, and sooner or later he will run out of what he should do. Boredom is his greatest enemy and our greatest fear.

Like his supporters, Trump has a disastrously short range of attention. When he is satisfied with “better” or inflicting pain on his enemy, joy may turn into anger. And if his constituents were complaining too loud, he might grow up angry and more isolated. And then I don’t know what he’s going to do, except that it becomes merciless, vindictive and arbitrary. It may also prove irreversibly destructive.

We have been looking forward to this fear for three and a half years.