Advertisement

Biden must play the healer-in-chief like he wants to be seen

Monday November 16 2020
Joe Biden.

US President-elect Joe Biden in Delaware, US, on November 10, 2020. PHOTO | ANGELA WEISS | AFP

By DALLA FITZWANGA

So US President Donald Trump was finally defeated by a man who was deemed weak to vie for US presidency.

Barring a repeal of the results by the Supreme Court, President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office come January 20.

A man of many firsts, he has the first woman vice president and he is the oldest president-elect in history.

The entry of a political ideology is always helped by a revolution against another.

Leaders far and wide have left indelible marks on the political history.

Bonapartism for example, a style that advocates dictatorship and a centralised state with a strongman or charismatic leader, is rather aptly modelled on Napoleon Bonaparte and has many surrogates to this day.

Advertisement

Thatcherism that lives in the conservative party advocated for free markets with limited government spending and tax cuts.

Thatcherism represented a backlash against the post-war status quo that is the welfare state, nationalised industry and close regulation of the British economy.

Hence Margaret Thatcher broke the back of the trade unions and killed state enterprises.

What of Trumpism? The new word added to our lexicon.

On the surface Trumpism looks mere machoism and populism that seeks to punish voters for voting for Barack Obama.

Trump’s message about economic liberty, even during the pandemic, won over many voters. People voted for Trump because of his positive messaging on the future and his going out of the way to put America first.

And that’s the heart of Trumpism. It rests on three pillars namely nationalism, religion and economic empowerment.

Regarding economic empowerment, Americans wanted jobs back in America. They were genuinely concern about the rot in inner cities as manufacturing went to China and China racked up a trade surplus with the US.

This section of Americans genuinely believed in making America great again by taking back their economic power.

Nationalism was about a return to isolationism or an America first policy, that coupled with a surgical response to America’s enemies after the humiliation of Libya were what made the silent majority vote for Donald Trump in the year 2016.

Part of the economic war that Trump rode on was the fear that America’s porous borders were being overrun by immigrants who proceeded to usurp American jobs.

Focusing on the message rather than the messenger to dismiss the election and support of Trump would be irresponsible.

And to overlook the grievances of what is colloquially called the silent majority as the work of racists should not be Biden’s new modus operandi.

The fact that Biden did not win by a landslide shows that Trumpism has appeal. Joseph Biden had 74.94 million votes or 50.6 percent of the vote at the time of writing this article while Donald Trump had 70.64 million or 47.7 percent of the vote.

So Trumpism is based on a real feeling of marginalisation by sections of the American population.

Biden would have to ignore the messenger behind Trumpism but heed the message if he is to play healer-in-chief like he wants to be seen.

Dalla Fitzwanga is a Uganda-based teacher who comments on social political issues.

Advertisement