America’s Political Blunders Are Worsening

Since the current U.S. administration came to power, making political gaffes has become one of the most prominent phenomena in American politics. The act of committing political gaffes has always been a common problem in modern politics, one that other countries have also had trouble avoiding. The current American administration, however, has performed differently from the rest.

Firstly, high-level officials in the American government are the ones taking part in this behavior. In most countries, the ones committing such gaffes are a minority of lower-level officials, such as press secretaries. High-level political figures have to adhere to the rules of their job and maintain their image, thus are not able to partake in these acts themselves. Despite this, everyone from the president to the secretary of state of the Donald Trump administration have not only committed political gaffes themselves, but have even enjoyed the process.

Secondly, America’s domestic politics affect its foreign diplomacy. In most cases, political gaffes usually occur within the scope of domestic politics. In the foreign affairs sphere, because of issues concerning cultural differences and mass media, it is usually difficult to start a fight about such blunders. The current administration is different in that it has not made any fewer verbal blunders with its own allies than it has with China.

Thirdly, the administration chooses to use low-level language. In general, everything on the national level, whether it is in domestic or international politics, all serves to represent the nation. The suitability of word choice to the occasion is usually emphasized, and common street language is rarely used in political statements. The current administration, however, more often than not, emphasizes the viral potential of its language, and instead worries about its diction not being at low enough of a level.

Generally speaking, political gaffes are actually an embodiment of America’s tendency to make base and crude remarks for the following reasons:

First, the intensification of American politics and social conflict is difficult to resolve with common methods. In any country, conflicts are not what scare people; it is the inability to solve them after a long period of time. Traditionally, this has been a phenomenon that has occurred in American politics, but generally this only happens within an election period. After the election, each opposing party moves closer to the center to close the social rift that widened as a result of the election.

This is especially true of the American president. After he is elected, the president usually adjusts very quickly, shifting from a competitive state to occupying an executive position and transitioning from a role in which he represents his as a presidential candidate to representing the citizens of the U.S. as president. But this time, the presidential system failed. After being in office for more than three years, Trump has never made the transition to a presidential role; he has not only continued to fail to resolve conflicts with others, but even has a tendency to make them worse. This demonstrates the seriousness of America’s social conflicts, problems in America’s traditional political mechanisms, which are already difficult to change.

Secondly, elite political traditions have been impacted by populism, and applying the filter of “political correctness” has failed. People today often see certain radical statements that have long existed in American society. In the past, however, these voices were filtered gradually during the political process, and eventually conformed to the American standard of “political correctness.” But now, a strong wave of populism has broken through the invisible layers of political filters.

Furthermore, new forms of media have broken the monopoly of traditional media. In the era of traditional media, the language used in the media was controlled by the elite. The ideas expressed in media did not have to conform to those of the elite, but the language used in dialogue was similar to and consistent with that of the political elite. Now, social media and independently operated media accounts are having an increasingly large influence on American society, and the boundary between politically acceptable language and the daily language of the masses has been breached. The line between advanced political language and low-level colloquial language has also become increasingly obscured.

Although America’s political gaffe phenomenon has exposed problems in American politics and society, it shows to some extent that some main functions of the American political system still exist.

First, the separation of powers in American politics is still effective. The political gaffe phenomenon is mainly concentrated within the conflict between President Trump and the anti-Trump community, which is consistent on the domestic and international levels. However, the fact that social media platforms such as Twitter seek to falsify the president’s remarks demonstrates that this phenomenon has not broken through America’s political tradition, and that it can still be seen in the relationship between public opinion and political power.

Secondly, conflict in American politics still develops in low-level politics. Although the scope of American verbal political blunders is broad, it is mainly concentrated within the field of low-level politics and the livelihood of society. Almost no one touches America’s fundamental political system — as for the Constitution, separation of powers, private property rights and other core ideas, both parties leave them be. This shows that there is still political consensus in these areas. Although America’s “political correctness” cannot regulate the language preferences and usage of all political parties, it can still regulate the choice of what gets discussed. This is not only the case for politics. Even the current issues of street violence in the U.S. are automatically confined to the traditional political framework, and have been blown out of proportion.

The political gaffe phenomenon is only worsening, and the Trump administration has had a hard time focusing on issues that actually matter. These issues have deepened the divide in American society, but also prove that the diverse, conflicted and inconsistent United States is the true United States. These types of conflicts are common phenomena in U.S. political history, and although they always have a significant impact, they rarely affect the core of the American political system. The international community should be aware that the United States, which is always engaged in verbal disputes, has many characteristics such as pluralism and checks and balances. By understanding this, it will be easier to respond to American words and actions.

The author is a professor at the Center for American Studies at Fudan University.