Trump: A Year of Demolition
The first anniversary of the Republican president’s victory is a reminder of a dark day for American democracy and global order.
On Nov. 5, 2024, over 77 million Americans voted to elect Donald Trump for a second term as president of the United States. They voted for him despite having watched him attempt a government coup, be found guilty by a jury in the Stormy Daniels criminal case, and run a hateful campaign in which his intention to use power to enact vengeance on his enemies was made crystal clear. While the rest of the world held its breath, one admirer of autocrats, like Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, celebrated the Republican magnate’s victory with this premonition: “History moves quickly and another chapter has just ended. The world will change a lot more rapidly than we previously thought.”
That particular chapter was defined by the idea that authoritarian persecution of minorities had, in 2020, been defeated by the world’s oldest liberal democracy. But Joe Biden was just an interruption. The reactionary fervor Trump had cultivated was far deeper and more widespread than moderates could have ever imagined. In this new chapter of history, American democracy could cease to exist: The path to autocracy, previously blocked off by a robust system of institutional checks and balances, has been opened up.
The speed at which the Trump administration has demolished these checks and balances shocked even his most pessimistic critics. Washington politics have been substituted for a White House that is hell-bent on satisfying the desires of its occupier. On the social media platform X, its official posts are written by fanatical cabinet members, backed by an army of lawyers and a group of online supporters who cheer it on. It introduces arbitrary tariffs that irresponsibly destabilize the global economy, while mobilizing the army to combat a street safety crisis it has invented. It tries to silence its critics, diverts funds away from Congress’ budget, blackmails universities and persecutes and deports immigrants on racist and xenophobic grounds. Adjectives like “unprecedented” and “inconceivable” have lost all meaning.
Yet there is arguably no domestic aspect impacted by this style of authoritarianism that compares to what has happened in the international domain. Diplomatic means have been substituted by the volatile humor of an egomaniac who is using American global influence for personal gain. One day he cancels aid for millions of Africans, the next he takes the U.S. out of the World Health Organization and agreements designed to tackle climate change. Then he tries to end the Israel-Palestine conflict with zero promises, demands European countries spend 5% of their budget on defense, floats the idea of invading Venezuela, and threatens both Ukraine and Russia equally, losing sight of which side is the aggressor and which is the victim.
If history has accelerated, it is because a clear path has been paved for it to do so. The majority of Republicans have neglected to defend the country’s legislature from the whims of the president. The justice system is drowning in thousands of challenges brought by the White House to the Supreme Court, where a conservative supermajority is on hand to willfully interpret every constitutional gray area in Trump’s favor. In the international domain, the general response to his transactional, “survival of the fittest” methods has been one of disorganization and resignation. The images of the White House’s East Wing, demolished by Trump to make way for an enormous ballroom in his honor, are a sign of the times.
It is important to remember that none of this was inevitable. While more than 77 million American citizens may have voted for Trump last year, over 75 million did so for his rival, Kamala Harris. The U.S. Senate also has the ability to block Trump’s actions at any point. If it doesn’t, then voters will have their say when campaigning begins for the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have started to give voice to the Americans who want to stop Trump by refusing to fund government services. In the international domain, countries like China, Mexico and Canada have shown that it is possible to say no to him, and to negotiate on a level playing field, following diplomatic rules rather than being subverted.
The year of demolition has changed the dynamics of power in the United States and its relationship with the rest of the world, potentially forever. They will continue to be out of control in the short term. But it is up to everyone else to ensure that this deterioration is not irreversible.
On Nov. 5, 2024, over 77 million Americans voted to elect Donald Trump for a second term as president of the United States. They voted for him despite having watched him attempt a government coup, be found guilty by a jury in the Stormy Daniels criminal case, and run a hateful campaign in which his intention to use power to enact vengeance on his enemies was made crystal clear. While the rest of the world held its breath, one admirer of autocrats, like Hungarian President Viktor Orbán, celebrated the Republican magnate’s victory with this premonition: “History moves quickly and another chapter has just ended. The world will change a lot more rapidly than we previously thought.”
That particular chapter was defined by the idea that authoritarian persecution of minorities had, in 2020, been defeated by the world’s oldest liberal democracy. But Joe Biden was just an interruption. The reactionary fervor Trump had cultivated was far deeper and more widespread than moderates could have ever imagined. In this new chapter of history, American democracy could cease to exist: The path to autocracy, previously blocked off by a robust system of institutional checks and balances, has been opened up.
The speed at which the Trump administration has demolished these checks and balances shocked even his most pessimistic critics. Washington politics have been substituted for a White House that is hell-bent on satisfying the desires of its occupier. On the social media platform X, its official posts are written by fanatical cabinet members, backed by an army of lawyers and a group of online supporters who cheer it on. It introduces arbitrary tariffs that irresponsibly destabilize the global economy, while mobilizing the army to combat a street safety crisis it has invented. It tries to silence its critics, diverts funds away from Congress’ budget, blackmails universities and persecutes and deports immigrants on racist and xenophobic grounds. Adjectives like “unprecedented” and “inconceivable” have lost all meaning.
Yet there is arguably no domestic aspect impacted by this style of authoritarianism that compares to what has happened in the international domain. Diplomatic means have been substituted by the volatile humor of an egomaniac who is using American global influence for personal gain. One day he cancels aid for millions of Africans, the next he takes the U.S. out of the World Health Organization and agreements designed to tackle climate change. Then he tries to end the Israel-Palestine conflict with zero promises, demands European countries spend 5% of their budget on defense, floats the idea of invading Venezuela, and threatens both Ukraine and Russia equally, losing sight of which side is the aggressor and which is the victim.
If history has accelerated, it is because a clear path has been paved for it to do so. The majority of Republicans have neglected to defend the country’s legislature from the whims of the president. The justice system is drowning in thousands of challenges brought by the White House to the Supreme Court, where a conservative supermajority is on hand to willfully interpret every constitutional gray area in Trump’s favor. In the international domain, the general response to his transactional, “survival of the fittest” methods has been one of disorganization and resignation. The images of the White House’s East Wing, demolished by Trump to make way for an enormous ballroom in his honor, are a sign of the times.
It is important to remember that none of this was inevitable. While more than 77 million American citizens may have voted for Trump last year, over 75 million did so for his rival, Kamala Harris. The U.S. Senate also has the ability to block Trump’s actions at any point. If it doesn’t, then voters will have their say when campaigning begins for the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats have started to give voice to the Americans who want to stop Trump by refusing to fund government services. In the international domain, countries like China, Mexico and Canada have shown that it is possible to say no to him, and to negotiate on a level playing field, following diplomatic rules rather than being subverted.
The year of demolition has changed the dynamics of power in the United States and its relationship with the rest of the world, potentially forever. They will continue to be out of control in the short term. But it is up to everyone else to ensure that this deterioration is not irreversible.
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