A massive part of the problem is that so many people focus on the buffoonery and hypocrisy of Donald Trump and ignore the very real and very dangerous illiberal, authoritarian movement that has used him as a battering ram to forward their disciplined agenda.
Trump was able to expose the rotting foundations of our institutions through his shamelessness and recklessness, but behind him is an entire movement of people who don’t necessarily believe in him but see him as incredibly useful in pushing their ideas and plans.
The circus of Trumpism and MAGA is a front that obscures a gathering worldwide movement of illiberal authoritarianism. The ridiculousness manages to allow some people to just dismiss it all as grotesque absurdity instead of looking just behind the curtain at the operation.
There are incredibly disciplined, intelligent, and ruthless people with nation state-level power and the backing of immense wealth, who use Trump as a weapon while destroying liberalism in order to replace it with a theocratic-driven, authoritarian alternative.
Trump is a show. A distraction. A useful idiot who can run ahead and destroy and expose weaknesses while preparing people for antidemocratic action and violence. The danger is the illiberal movement behind him that winds him up and watches him go.
The distance between Trump As A Show and the illiberal movement is just enough that journalists, politicians, and pundits wanting to ignore it can just bury their heads in the sand. The buffoonery gives them permission to dismiss it and hold onto their positions.
MAGA is proof that the authoritarian movement can create a populist-ish political identity and even seize the control of state. Trump‘a presidency was a testing out of the system and ideology. It’s not a coincidence all these illiberal regimes are rising all at once.
It’s time to stop pretending all this antidemocratic authoritarianism is an aberration or a fleeting phenomenon. It’s a growing worldwide movement and the people behind it are not only collaborating but are incredibly driven and well-funded. Time to call it what it is.
To be clear, this is about more than midterms or elections or polls or whatever storyline mainstream politicians and pundits want to peddle. There’s a full blown crisis brewing and unless people get serious and face this thing, the threat is only going to grow unfettered.
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