_Noah Wright is a sophomore constitutional democracy major at MU. They are an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Maneater._
On Jan. 20, President Joe Biden was sworn into office and, for the first time in modern U.S. history, the outgoing president failed to formally concede the election loss. Former President Donald Trump has continued to push his baseless claim that the election was stolen, a narrative that instigated a violent attack on the Capitol and left five people dead.
Biden supporters have been quick to rejoice that “democracy prevailed,” and that things can return back to political normalcy. However, the Capitol attack revealed that the Trump era did not end with the loss of the White House: It merely entered a new phase. Trump loyalists are now the opposition group, a group that will only grow larger and more powerful if the Biden administration achieves its goal of returning to status quo politics.
Democrats have the ability to address this threat. For the first time since 2010, they control the White House and both halls of Congress. Despite this, party leaders are already starting to rein in legislative expectations for Biden’s moderate policy proposals. Idealistic calls for unity — something that is never shown to them when Republicans are in power — will continue to undermine any legislative progress made towards the crises currently engulfing America.
Pundits have been trying to explain Trump’s rise to power since the 2016 election, often pointing to a nebulous “economic anxiety” among American voters. Whether it was this anxiety, Russia or anti-institutionalism that gave America Trump is irrelevant now. He effectively built a reactionary movement that will continue to shape American politics even if he is no longer its figurehead.
It is dangerous to associate political movements with a single individual. Despite all of the scandals, impeachments and pandemic failures, Trump received some 74 million votes in the 2020 election, outpacing both Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton in 2016. Additionally, Trump has retained control over the GOP, as evidenced by Senate Republicans voting overwhelmingly to dismiss his second impeachment trial after showing some initial support.
The movement has new leaders too. Missouri Senator and former MU professor Josh Hawley is now infamous for his support of the election fraud narrative and subsequent Capitol attack. Ambitious ideologues such as Hawley will use the Trump movement for their own political gain and are likely the face of the Republican party heading into the future.
Democrats are right to pursue an impeachment conviction for the former president’s role in the Jan. 6 attack and remove the possibility of another Trump term in 2024. However, it is not a panacea to the current surge of ultranationalism and white rage into mainstream American politics, nor will it hinder the Trump movement and its allies. It will add fuel to the fire for people who already believe the election was stolen and that the deep state is out to get them. Furthermore, it is a slap on the wrist compared to Trump’s crimes, and the current inability of American institutions to check these abuses of power has paved the path for future insurrection and violence.
Trump has left America more divided than ever, and the belief that a hated career politician like Biden will unify us is laughable. As evidenced by recent events, this division leads to more violence by the day. Political violence will only increase unless the root causes of our polarization are addressed, specifically the economic inequality ripping apart America’s social fabric.
Biden has indicated support for a new domestic terrorism bill, which is the exact antithesis of what is needed to stop political violence. Using the Capitol attack to justify the expansion of the surveillance and police state is expected but nonetheless disheartening after a year of witnessing where bloated law enforcement budgets lead.
Whatever security measures are passed will be used not to hinder right-wing terrorism but to disrupt labor organization and racial justice moevements like Black Lives Matter. This has happened in the past, like with the FBI’s COINTELPRO program that was used to attack political dissidents from the 1950s to ‘70s. It is happening now as well, with leaked FBI documents showing that they monitor racial justice activists with the designation “Black Identity Extremists.”
Those on the left need to recognize how expanded surveillance will inevitably lead to state repression of the goals we are fighting for, and that the institutions of the U.S. are more focused on spreading right-wing violence across the globe than preventing it.
Instead of tightening security, Democrats could use their power to address political polarization at its roots. Issuing larger stimulus checks, guaranteeing healthcare for all in the midst of a pandemic and legalizing marijuana are all incredibly popular policies that could serve to quell political anger and address some of the economic inequalities that are playing out on our political stage. If they fail to enact these wildly popular policies, it will only play into the Trump movement’s hands and strengthen its reliance on authoritarian populism.
The next four years are an essential time for the left to organize and critique the Biden administration when it fails. We must not compromise our values under a false pretext of unity. Instead, we must show those on the right that their enemy is the ruling capitalist class and not minorities, China or the media. Trumpism is fought on the streets, not in Washington.
_As part of our commitment to social justice initiatives, we at The Maneater encourage you to consider making a donation to Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, an organization committed to ending bail and assisting the incarcerated amidst Black Lives Matter protests.
The link to donate is https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/PhiladelphiaCommunityBailfund/general_
_Edited by Sofi Zeman | szeman@themaneater.com_
