Trump, from Idol to Scapegoat

Published in El Heraldo de Mexico
(Mexico) on 29th November 2022
by José Carreño Figueras (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Stephen Routledge . Edited by Patricia Simoni.
Two months ago he seemed to find himself on the road back to the White House, with fearful opposition both inside and outside the party.

For the past two years, Donald Trump seemed to be the defining face of the American right and, for the Republican Party in particular, its ultimate, undisputed leader. Today, however, there are a growing number of people inside and outside the Republican Party who are wondering whether this is a story in its final stages.

So much so, say the usually well-informed gossips, that the Democrats themselves would like the Republican presidential candidate to be Trump. Until two months ago, he seemed to be on the road back to the White House, with fearful opposition both inside and outside the party; and an evidently vulnerable President Biden facing an economy troubled by inflation, high gasoline prices, and simultaneous crises in several parts of the world, especially in Ukraine and Taiwan. Biden, now in his 80s, looked weak and tired, doomed to be seen simply as a good man who had outgrown his job.

Trump had the chance, and he took it, to impose candidates to his liking for elected positions such as congressional representatives and senators. And there, it can be said, began his downfall. For in their desire to be pleasing to the new chieftain, Trump’s chosen aspirants turned out to be more extreme and strident than he himself, both in their denunciations of the honesty of the 2020 election, and in their positions on issues such as abortion. Indeed, they went too far and became irritating. The outcome of the last Nov. 8 elections was like a fulfilled prediction from the famous novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

In other words, changes were made to keep everything the same: Instead of an overwhelming victory, the Republicans achieved a rickety majority in the House and, at best, a tie in the Senate, as in the previous two years. It was an electoral semi-failure, but politically it was a brutal defeat, which opened the door to a torrent of accusations against Trump, who had already been denounced for meddling in the Republican electoral process and stealing attention from the candidates by going ahead and launching his own candidacy with a speech considered to be the apathetic oratory of an old and tired candidate.

Trump seems to enjoy complicating things, having recently had dinner at his home with Nick Fuentes, a far-right figure known for his Nazi and racist sympathies, and rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West), author of controversial anti-Jewish statements.

At the same time, aspirants who until a few weeks ago were on the lookout for opportunity now feel that there is space for them in the competition for the Republican presidential candidacy. Worse still, financiers and former collaborators are abandoning Trump in search of new faces that, without the personal complications of the former president, would arouse less antipathy.


Hace dos meses parecía encontrarse en el camino de retorno a la Casa Blanca, con una oposición temerosa dentro del partido y, fuera de él

Por los últimos dos años Donald Trump pareció el rostro definitorio de la derecha estadounidense y en particular del Partido Republicano, su líder máximo, indiscutible. Hoy sin embargo, hay un número creciente de personas, dentro y fuera del Partido Republicano, que se preguntan si es una historia que está en sus etapas finales.

Tanto, dicen las usualmente bien informadas malas lenguas, que los propios demócratas desearían que el candidato presidencial republicano fuera Trump. Hasta hace dos meses parecía encontrarse en el camino de retorno a la Casa Blanca, con una oposición temerosa dentro del partido y, fuera de él, con un presidente Biden evidentemente vulnerable, enfrentado con una economía atribulada por la inflación, altos precios de la gasolina, crisis simultáneas en varias partes del mundo, en especial Ucrania y Taiwán. Biden, ya en sus 80 años, parecía un mandatario débil y cansado, condenado a ser visto simplemente como un buen hombre al que le vino grande el puesto.

Trump tuvo la posibilidad, y la aprovechó, de imponer candidatos a su gusto para puestos de elección como representantes (diputados) y senadores. Y ahí, puede decirse, empezó su caída. Porque en su deseo de ser agradables al nuevo cacique, los aspirantes elegidos por Trump resultaron más extremos y estridentes que él mismo, tanto en sus denuncias sobre la honradez de la elección de 2020 como en sus posturas sobre temas como el aborto. Y de hecho fueron demasiado lejos y se convirtieron en irritantes. El resultado de los comicios del 8 de noviembre último fue como un vaticinio cumplido de la famosa novela Il Gatopardo.

En otras palabras, hubo cambios para que todo siguiera igual: en vez de una victoria abrumadora, los republicanos consiguieron una raquítica mayoría en la Cámara baja y como máximo un empate en el Senado, como en los dos años anteriores. Fue un semifracaso electoral, pero políticamente fue una brutal derrota, que abrió la puerta a un torrente de acusaciones sobre Trump, que había sido denunciado ya por entrometerse en el proceso electoral republicano y robarle atención a los candidatos al adelantarse a lanzar su propia candidatura, con un discurso considerado como la oratoria apática de un candidato viejo y cansado.

Trump parece disfrutar en complicar las cosas, y recientemente recibió en su casa a Nick Fuentes, un personaje de la extrema derecha conocido por sus simpatías nazis y racistas, así como por el rapero Ye (antes Kanye West), autor de polémicas declaraciones antijudías.
Paralelamente, aspirantes que hasta hace unas semanas estaban al acecho en caso de que se presentara la oportunidad, hoy sienten que hay un espacio para ellos en la competencia por la candidatura presidencial republicana. Y peor aún, financieros y antiguos colaboradores abandonan a Trump, en búsqueda de nuevos rostros, que sin las complicaciones personales del exmandatario despierten menos antipatías.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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