Beyond Trump
As the votes in primaries across the country were counted, Donald Trump appears to be one of the losers. Many political observers are taking note that a Trump endorsement did not mean an automatic victory. And some republicans even shied away from his stamp of approval.
Politico reported that four of Trump’s picks for governorships failed to win their primaries, and in Michigan and Tennessee his candidates for Congress also lost out. Even his enthusiastic support for Darline Graham didn’t stop a number of people from entering the race for her brother Lindsey’s Senate seat. She faces a runoff.
Politico concluded:
The president has still endorsed far more winners than losers overall. But with his approval ratings slumping and Republicans struggling to build momentum in the midterm campaign, the exceptions to the rule may increasingly be telling a story about Trump’s prized clout.
Juan Williams, an historian and Fox News commentator, asked what was once an unthinkable question for Fox, “Have we reached the end of the Trump era?” He observes that even conservative media seems to be backing away from Trump and that his “press conferences often reveal him to be a president visibly struggling to stay awake and then weaving in and out of coherent answers.”
This makes Trump all the more dangerous.
The diminishment of Trump’s influence is paired with a resurgence of progressive energy. Here in Michigan, the victory of Abdul El-Sayed over Haley Stevens is being closely watched as a sign of shifting democratic priorities. El-Sayed is joined by candidates across the country who ran successful campaigns for local, state, and federal offices.
Many of us are hopeful that the midterm elections, with all their flaws, will see a real shift in political power, giving us a Congress that can contain some of the damage being done to our country and people everywhere. People are weary of hate-filled public life and looking for “real change” toward policies that place care for each other and the qualities of our lives at the center.
These shifting possibilities will only move toward a more just future if we understand that Donald Trump is not the problem. He reflects it. He is the result of decades of planning, organizing, and strategies by far-right forces committed to a vision of America best described as the pre-Civil War South, where everyone knew their place and violence was the best way to keep us there.
My earliest memories of public life in our country are those of gangs of white men and women surrounding small black children on their way to schools. I still see their faces, twisted in anger and hate. I also remember the faces of the men who invaded the funerals of gay men who died from complications of AIDS. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church brought new levels of hate to bear on us after the brutal killing of young Matthew Shepard. It took twenty years for his family to find a safe resting spot inside the National Cathedral.
I saw these faces again on the streets of Dearborn this week.
Jake Lang, a right-wing leader who served four years in prison for his part in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol, led a “Christian Crusader March” in Dearborn. He was joined by people from around the country who brought Nazi gear and engaged in provocative, hateful comments. The gathering was met with a larger group of counterprotesters, often celebrating Arab American culture. Many public officials denounced the Crusaders.
Long after Donald Trump is a shameful memory, those who have organized, promoted, and fomented hate will be with us.
We will only be able to become a different kind of people if we can create together a compelling, joy-filled vision of what it means to live with care and love for each other and the earth that sustains us. That is the real work ahead of us if we are to find our way to a better future.