What America and Africa can Learn from Trump Curse
They have finally taken power away from Trump! But one thing anyone can’t take away from him is that he is a great teacher, albeit a strange one. Trump taught America and the West as a whole that the sophisticated democracy and quality education they glorify and boast of, don’t in any way inoculate them against authoritarian populism.
Since Trump was trumped out of office through free and fair elections it’s only fair for America to glory in its democracy all its wants and endlessly reaffirm how efficient its institutions are. But the joy of the victory over Trump should not let America forget that Trump won more votes than he did in 2016; Biden’s victory was hard-fought. Trump would probably have been re-elected if not for the pandemic. This means that free and fair elections almost couldn’t save America from another 4 years of watching Trump as he continues to judder the foundations of American democracy.
There is a lesson to be learned from that: free and fair elections — something the West over-valorized and financed heavily in Africa as though it’s the only solution to Africa’s myriad of political problems — aren’t enough to save America or the West from authoritarian populism. Will America learn? The answer isn’t clear yet. But it will do America good to take the lesson seriously and not depend on only the electoral mechanisms of its over 200 years-old democracy to combat populism.
Trump’s time in the White House is over, but “Trump Curse” is far from over. For one thing, Trump has taught millions of Americans how easy it’s to rise to power in America through populism — and by being a shameless narcissist who normalizes poor moral standards and constantly basks in foolishness. It’s to be expected that as soon as the dust of Trump’s presidency settles, one of the effects of the Trump Curse will begin to manifest. The ranks of Trump-like politicians in America will swell. The signs are there. A wave of authoritarian populism has been sweeping through the West before 2016 when Trump took office.
Also, let’s not forget that Trump was kicked out of the White House, not out of America. Up till his last minute in the White House, Trump didn’t show any soothing sign that he is willing to change. This means even as a former president, Trump’s words and actions augur ill for America. That he is no longer the president won’t reduce his relevance or make his political opinion useless among his 70 million supporters.
If he doesn’t wind up in jail, growing his support base by dishing out more of the type of rhetoric and actions he was known for while in office, would be his pastime. If he winds up in jail, he will whip up empathy among millions of Americans by passing for a well-intentioned man who is being persecuted after he was unfairly euchred out of his electoral victory. They attacked lawmakers in the Capitol because he lost re-election. Who knows what they will do if he is sent to prison? Ultimately, it doesn’t seem the Trump Curse on America will be lifted anytime soon. If a Trump ever gets into the Oval Office again, the aftermath would be worse than that of Donald J. Trump’s administration. This is why America must be well prepared to prevent the disaster of another Trump.
Has Africa Learned?
Quite a lot of Africans are wont to refer to America and other Western countries as “saner climes.” The concept of “Saner climes” in Africa is an ideational construct and summary of what many Africans wished Africa were like. When one of the unfortunate results of the protracted institutional failure in Africa shows up in an African country, it’s common to hear citizens compare the West to Africa and conclude that “that wouldn’t have happened in “saner climes.””
Trump’s 4 years as President, were punctured with disgraceful stories and events that shattered the “saner clime” construct — even if it’s for just a short time. On the one hand, Africans who are obsessed with the “saner clime” comparison are now beginning to see that no clime is really saner after all. On the other hand, patriotic Africans who have always chastised and pilloried the “saner clime” chanters are now gloating, because the epiphany that there is no “saner clime” has eventually come upon their annoying saner clime-chanting opponents.
To those who gloat: there is really nothing to gloat about. To the saner clime chanters who now think the “saner clime” comparison is a myth: that’s rather a hasty conclusion. Here is why.
Trump’s unfortunate opportunity to rule America might have shown the weaknesses in the American polity and democracy, at the same time, it also shows that the American democracy (despite its weaknesses) is committed to respecting standards, even when it’s clear that doing so is destructive. Everyone knew Trump was an unhinged, psychopathic, authoritarian populist and bigot and that his 4 years in office won‘t hold any tangible good for America, but since he won the elections, he was made president. If it were in Africa, Trump might not have been allowed to rule even if he won the elections by a landslide victory. The incumbent president would have openly denied Trump’s electoral victory by manipulating election results and telling the people that such a man isn’t fit to be their president.
It’s now more than 50 years of self-rule in Africa; that is, Africa has had its destiny in its hands for more than 50 years, however building and consolidating strong institutions that in turn build a reliable democracy remains an elusive dream. Obviously, Africa is a “sane clime,” and the West is a “saner clime.” But that’s not the actual lesson to be learned here. The real lesson here is that strong institutions are strong people. They are men and women of refined, unfailing moral uprightness who are committed to playing by the rules unfailingly.
Africa will never have strong institutions when a considerable percentage of the leaders and the followers both have a pathological compulsiveness to constantly flout the rules and disregard the standards for building a better country. The only thing that differentiates many Africans from their leaders is the access to political power. With political power in their hands, it soon becomes clear that many African citizens are just politically powerless versions of the corrupt, heartless leaders they curse and barrack in real life and on social media. To me, this is the greatest problem of Africa.
It’s sad that while America solved its problem by kicking Trump out of office, Africa is gloating for no sensible reasons, when it’s yet to solve its problem. It’s even sadder that no one knows when Africa will solve its own problem.
