Will Trump satisfy his voters?

Image by Pexels from Pixabay Share — Will Trump satisfy his voters? How quickly will he fail them? If Trump follows through with his promises for radical tariffs and mass deportations, while both may be emotionally satisfying for his voters, both will also take a big bite out of the economy, probably provoking a recession. That will be a real test of his and Rupert Murdoch’s ability to gaslight Americans. The majority of his voters believe that the country is ravaged with crime (our violent crime numbers are the lowest in decades), in the midst of a recession (we have the best economy since the 1960s), and our border is daily overwhelmed (crossings are at a multi-decade low). So his and Murdoch’s power to make people believe things that aren’t true is considerable (remember that roughly a half-million Americans died unnecessarily because they believed Trump and Murdoch on Covid and masks). But, still, there are limits to people’s credulity, particularly when it comes to losing their jobs to a recession. This point when he’s screwed things up and doesn’t have a solution will be a crucial moment; it’s the time he’d most likely try to go full fascist authoritarian to shut down truth-tellers and his political opposition. As Duke University political scientist Herbert Kitschelt told The New York Times’ Thomas Edsall: “The hour of political authoritarianism arrives, when the new wagers to create economic affluence among the less well-off and to resurrect the old kinship relations of industrial society turn sour and generate disenchantment among Trump’s own following. Trump then may well want to make sure that his disenchanted supporters — as well as those who always opposed Trumpism — will not get another chance to express their opinions.” If Kitschelt is right and Trump turns on his own base, it’ll be a critical moment in American history. Frankly, I’m more inclined to believe he’ll do what Reagan did when the economy was in the tank and he was being criticized for not responding to the Beirut Marine barracks bombing: he invaded Grenada. Starting a “little war” is a time-tested technique, first used by Margaret Thatcher, then Reagan, then both Bushs to divert the public’s attention from domestic crises. If he chooses his war stupidly, he could trigger WWIII. Keep an eye on this.