The American Circus

Published in El Pais
(Spain) on 04 November 2019
by Francisco G. Basterra (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Hannah Bowditch. Edited by Helaine Schweitzer.
United States Democrats are aware that they have launched a difficult battle against a belligerent president, and have decided to twist the truth.

The Anglo-Saxon world, cornerstone and engine of the liberal international order, looks more like a two-ring circus today with its ringleaders, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, two disorganized minds, acting like clowns who cannot behave as adults. The man in the White House has caused the international order to become unhinged, detaching it from its classical axes. The international reliability of Trump’s America, wrapped up in itself, has evaporated.

Meanwhile, we have Xi Jinping in China and Vladimir Putin in Russia, autocrats not subject to the rules of democracy, advancing shrewdly between the cracks of international order. Putin summons African leaders to the Black Sea to boost Russian influence on the continent, emulating the Silk Road utilized by Beijing, after taking advantage of the void created by Trump in the Middle East. And wedged into the resulting sandwich, the EU boxes below its weight, unable to assert its place in the new geopolitical scene.

The U.S. president declares himself a victim of the biggest witch hunt in history. Johnson, in better humor, declares he feels like the comic strip character Charlie Brown, with the British parliament constantly grabbing the Brexit ball away as he runs up to kick it forward. The two white pumpkin-haired twins, both with anarchic personalities, base their leadership on nationalist instincts, governing by emotional spasm.

This week, the House of Representatives formalized the process of impeachment with public hearings. With the facts as we know them, impeachment could triumph in the House, but the process will not succeed in reaching a final judgment of conviction, thanks to the firewall that protects the president in the Senate. At the moment, the lines of partisan polarization are intact, and no Republicans have deserted. The core of electoral support for the most reckless president in modern U.S. history has not been undermined, despite “Ukrainegate” and the abuse of presidential power that has been brought to light, or the 13,000 lies and false stories the man in the White House has told since the beginning of his term. His electoral base has withstood the scandal with 85% of Republicans, a percentage that drops to 42% if you consider the population as a whole.

The Democrats are aware they have thrown themselves into a difficult battle against a combative president, and have decided to twist the truth. The overall legitimacy of the process now begun cannot depend exclusively on the Democratic vote, it would be excessively partisan and would require an across-the-aisle approach that still does not exist. How will the American circus end? A conviction, or the dishonorable resignation of the president to avoid it, Trump’s defeat in the November 2020 election, or his plausible reelection and the continuation of the circus for another four years. With Brexit playing the same role in the case of the man who imitates Trump, an uncertain ending is also promising. My generation was happy under the canvas of the great American circus in the 1950s. Of course, that was another time.


El circo americano

Los demócratas estadounidenses son conscientes de que se han lanzado a una difícil batalla contra un presidente combativo y decidido a retorcer la verdad

El mundo anglosajón, el que fuera pilar y motor del orden liberal internacional, se asemeja más hoy a un circo de dos pistas con sus dirigentes, Donald Trump y Boris Johnson, dos mentes desordenadas, actuando al estilo de dos payasos que no pueden comportarse como adultos. El inquilino de la Casa Blanca desquicia el orden internacional, desencajado de sus ejes clásicos. La fiabilidad internacional de la América de Trump, replegada en sí misma, se volatiliza.

Mientras, Xi en China y la Rusia de Putin, autócratas no sujetos a las reglas de la democracia, avanzan con astucia entre los cascotes del agrietado orden internacional. Putin convocando a líderes africanos en el mar Negro para impulsar la influencia rusa en el continente emulando la Ruta de la Seda desplegada por Pekín, tras aprovechar el vacío regalado por Trump en Oriente Próximo. Y emparedada en el sándwich resultante, la UE boxea por debajo de su peso incapaz de afirmar su lugar en la nueva geopolítica.

El presidente se declara víctima de la mayor caza de brujas de la historia. Johnson, con mejor humor, afirma sentirse como el genial Charlie Brown de las viñetas, al que el Parlamento británico le desplaza constantemente la pelota del Brexit cuando se dispone a chutarla hacia delante. Los dos gemelos del pelo blanco calabaza, de anárquicas personalidades, basan sus liderazgos en sus instintos nacionalistas. Gobierno por espasmos emocionales.

La Cámara de Representantes formalizó esta semana el proceso para el impeachment con audiencias públicas. Con los datos que conocemos, podría triunfar en esa Cámara, pero no superar el juicio definitivo y la sentencia condenatoria, gracias al cortafuegos que protege en el Senado al presidente. De momento, las líneas de polarización partidista se mantienen y no hay deserciones republicanas; la almendra central del apoyo electoral al presidente más temerario de la historia contemporánea de EE UU no se resquebraja, a pesar del Ucraniagate y el abuso de poder presidencial que pone de manifiesto, ni de las 13.000 mentiras y bulos contabilizados al inquilino de la Casa Blanca desde el inicio de su mandato. Sus bases aguantan el escándalo: el 85% de los republicanos, porcentaje que desciende al 42% del conjunto de la población.

Los demócratas son conscientes de que se han lanzado a una difícil batalla contra un presidente combativo y decidido a retorcer la verdad. La legitimidad final del proceso iniciado no puede depender exclusivamente del voto demócrata, sería excesivamente partidaria, exigirá una transversalidad todavía inexistente. ¿Cómo acabará la función del Circo Americano? Un fallo condenatorio, o la dimisión deshonrosa del presidente para evitarlo; la derrota de Trump en las elecciones de noviembre de 2020; su verosímil reelección y la renovación del circo por otros cuatro años. La función del Brexit a cargo del imitador de Trump, de final incierto, también promete. Mi generación fue feliz bajo la lona del gran Circo Americano en los años cincuenta del siglo XX. Claro que eran otros tiempos.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Ireland: At the Top of the 2025 Naughty List Is the US, Now Officially in Climate Denial

Saudi Arabia: Transitional Dualism and the Role Required of America

Spain: What a Backward World It Will Be in 2026

Canada: Ron DeSantis Says Florida Tourism Is Doing just Fine without Doug Ford

Topics

Germany: Pure Conflict of Interest

Saudi Arabia: Transitional Dualism and the Role Required of America

Canada: Even When Trump Tells Lies, He Shows the Truth

Luxembourg: Welcome to Trumpembourg? On Precarious Interactions with Trump’s America*

Spain: What a Backward World It Will Be in 2026

Egypt: Impudence and Racism

Japan: US National Security Strategy: New Concerns about Isolationism

Spain: Trump’s Anti-Europe Doctrine

Related Articles

Germany: Trump Risks Falling into the Same Trap as His Predecessor*

Canada: Even When Trump Tells Lies, He Shows the Truth

El Salvador: A Pardon with Geopolitical Significance: Trump, Hernández and the Honduran Right Wing

Germany: One Should Take It as an Honor

Ireland: Trump’s Disturbing National Security Strategy Should Be Required Reading