The billionaire is staging a culture war against the forces of evil. An editorial about Donald Trump’s renewed presidential candidacy.
It has been four years since the merciless populist and self-promoter rode down the golden escalator of New York’s Trump Tower. Now the 73-year-old is campaigning to be reelected to the White House. And his followers are eagerly anticipating season two of the political drama.
Trump has fulfilled few of his promises: the immigration from the south that he wanted to stop with a wall is now reaching record levels. The trade war with China hurts American farmers. The threat of war looms in the Middle East, which the isolationist wanted to avoid at all costs.
The billionaire stages a culture war against the forces of evil. As long as the economy is doing well, the cynical theater of illusions seems to be well received by his fan base. Yet the Democrats still have a good opportunity to reverse the current course next year. The U.S. economy is showing initial signs of stress.
In current polls, the president is trailing the Democrats. Those are snapshots. But Trump has never found footing beyond his loyal, right-wing base. If the respectable side of America turns out in droves for the election in the critical states, the demon may finally be exorcised in 17 months.
Donald Trump ist die Chance der Demokraten
Von Karl Doemens
Der Milliardär inszeniert einen Kulturkampf gegen die Mächte des Bösen. Ein Kommentar zur erneuten Präsidentschaftskandidatur von Donald Trump.
Vier Jahre ist es her, dass ein gnadenloser Populist und Selbstdarsteller die goldene Rolltreppe im New Yorker Trump-Tower herunterfuhr. Nun bewirbt sich der 73-Jährige um den Wiedereinzug ins Weiße Haus. Und seine Anhänger fiebern der zweiten Staffel des Politdramas entgegen.
Von seinen Versprechen hat Trump nur wenig eingelöst: Die Einwanderung aus dem Süden, die er mit einer Mauer stoppen wollte, erreicht gerade Rekordniveau. Der Handelskrieg mit China schadet den amerikanischen Farmern. Im Nahen Osten droht ein Krieg, den der Isolationist unbedingt vermeiden wollte.
Der Milliardär inszeniert einen Kulturkampf gegen die Mächte des Bösen. Solange die Wirtschaft gut läuft, scheint das zynische Illusionstheater bei seiner Fangemeinde zu verfangen. Trotzdem haben die Demokraten eine gute Chance, im nächsten Jahr das Ruder herumzureißen. Die Konjunktur in den USA zeigt erste Schleifspuren.
In den Umfragen liegt der Präsident derzeit hinter den Demokraten. Das sind Momentaufnahmen. Doch hat Trump nie über seine eingeschworene rechte Basis hinausgestrahlt. Wenn das anständige Amerika in den kritischen Bundesstaaten massiv zur Wahl geht, kann der Spuk in 17 Monaten vorbei sein.
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Even Jake Sullivan, former United States president Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said “the Washington Consensus is a promise that was not kept[.]”
Even in the earlier "Deal of the Century," Benjamin Netanyahu steered Donald Trump toward a Bar-Ilan-style bear hug: first applying Israeli law to parts of the territories, and only afterward offering a "minus Arab state."
The two men—the older one from glitzy Manhattan, the younger upstart from fashionably upmarket Brooklyn—have built formidable fanbases by championing diametrically opposed visions of America.
While China has warned of serious consequences and may impose sanctions, the U.S. frames the sale as a necessary sustainment measure for existing aircraft rather than an escalation.
Yet, over the long term, tilting towards the US doesn't seem to be the natural choice, especially when America is looking to re-shore manufacturing and disengage from China-centric supply chains.