2021 Truthout, C. J. Polychroniou, and Valeria Chomsky
Published in 2021 by
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Foreword
C. J. Polychroniou
Over the course of the last couple of decades we, have become witness to the rise of a new political phenomenon, which may be loosely described as authoritarianism populism. It is a movement situated, ideologically, on the far right of the political spectrum, although there are some subtle differences with regard to policymaking on various issues between, say, Hungarys authoritarian-populist regime under Viktor Orbn, and those of Tayyip Erdogans in Turkey, Jair Bolsonaros in Brazil and of Donald Trumps in the United States, respectively. However, what bonds authoritarian populist leaders in the early part of the 21st century is their affinity for forms of political behavior that result in repressive measures, undermine all forms of collective decision makingand indeed of the democratization process itselfand lead to the formation of autocratic regimes. Authoritarian leaders such as Orbn, Bolsonaro, and Trump employ a rhetoric that can be loosely defined as neofascist and xenophobic, if not outright racist, while seeking at the same time to gain popular support by using an ideology of extreme nationalism.
The reasons behind the rise of authoritarian populism appear to be intrinsically related to concerns about globalization, immigration, and a dilution of the national identity among growing segments of primarily lower and working-class citizens. These factors were surely at the heart of Donald Trumps surprising victory of the 2016 US presidential election over Hillary Clinton, even though he lost the popular vote by three million votes. Indeed, authoritarian populism received its biggest boost with the rise of Trump to power, and, by virtue of the fact that he held the highest position in the worlds most powerful nation, made him the de facto leader of the authoritarian-populist current that has been spreading among liberal democracies over the last couple of decades.
Thankfully, Donald Trump ended up being a one-term president, losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. Typical of his anti-democratic impulses, and just as he had hinted all along, Trump refused to concede defeat by claiming without a trace of evidence that the election was rigged and stolen and incited an insurrection. By doing so, Trumps apparent strategy to sue his way to election victory on the basis of baseless vote fraud claims was also carried out with the explicit intent of having his fanatical base become ever more convinced of the need to subvert the democratic process.
And here is the trouble. Trump may be out of office, but Trumpism is still very much alive and kicking in the land of the free and the brave. The Republican Party is Trumps party, and the followers of the MAGA movement live in an entirely different galaxy than the rest of the population. To be sure, the United States remains most likely the most divided and polarized nation in the world. The differences among the citizenry are not merely political or ideological. They are epistemological. Indeed, what separates Trumps fanatical base, possibly 40 percent of the American population, from the rest of the body politic, are alternative conceptions of reality itself! Trumps supporters reject science, have no faith in actual facts, and are drawn overwhelmingly into conspiracies. And the con artist that occupied the White House from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021, knew his political clientele all too well, and took full advantage of the situation by being a super-spreader of misinformation and constant lies, while proceeding at the same time to extend all sorts of big gifts to the very rich and the corporate world (huge tax cuts and massive deregulations) and backstabbing the poor and average Americans who voted for him.
But Trump wasnt just a liar and a con artist. He was Americas worst nightmare, democracys Trojan horse, the planets greatest mortal threat. The forty-fifth president of the United States is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Americans on account of his reckless stance on the Coronavirus pandemic, for bringing the nation on the verge of a civil war and the planet dangerously close to the tipping point with his denial of global warming, compelling one of the worlds greatest minds and most revered public intellectual alive (i.e., Noam Chomsky) to label Trump the worst criminal in history.
During the course of Trumps reign, I had the pleasure and honor to continue interviewing Noam Chomsky on the developments unfolding in the US and around the world. The interviews collected in this volume, which originally appeared in Truthout, cover the period from Trumps election in November 2016 to the 2020 elections. They offer brilliant analyses, immense insights, and breathtaking critiques by a staggering genius on Trumps presidency and the phenomenon of Trumpism. Hopefully, however, this little volume wont be read only by those who are aware of the existential threat that Donald Trump representedand may still representfor the future of democracy in the United States and of the sustainability of the planet, but also by those who were mesmerized by and idolized the greatest political con man in recent memory and the worse criminal in history.
Trump in the White House
C. J. POLYCHRONIOU: Noam, the unthinkable has happened. Despite all forecasts to the contrary, Donald Trump scored a decisive victory over Hillary Clinton, and the man that Michael Moore described as a wretched, ignorant, dangerous part-time clown and full-time sociopath will be the next president of the United States. In your view, what were the deciding factors that led American voters to produce the biggest upset in the history of US politics?
NOAM CHOMSKY: Before turning to this question, I think it is important to spend a few moments pondering just what happened on November 8, a date that might turn out to be one of the most important in human history, depending on how we react.
No exaggeration.
The most important news of November 8 was barely noted, a fact of some significance in itself.
On November 8, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) delivered a report at the international conference on climate change in Morocco (COP22), which was called in order to carry forward the Paris agreement of COP21. The WMO reported that the past five years had been the hottest on record. It also reported rising sea levels, soon to increase as a result of the unexpectedly rapid melting of polar ice, most ominously the huge Antarctic glaciers.
