First, the “show”, even the big show! In this matter, America is dealing with an expert: before becoming the 47th President of the United States, Monday January 20 at noon, the former real estate developer Donald J. Trump – let us never forget – organized fights boxing and wrestling matches; directed beauty pageants (Miss USA and Miss Universe); presented the reality show The Apprentice; filmed around fifteen commercials and made appearances in television series.
Rule No. 1 of the public entertainer, now the new tenant of the White House: renew yourself, surprise, create strong emotions. To celebrate his spectacular comeback and make an impression, the new head of state took care of his audience by avoiding a repeat of the ceremony eight years ago. This is why, in addition to the climatic conditions (it was polar cold in Washington), his swearing-in was relocated at the last minute inside the Capitol rather than outside. Renew yourself, surprise…
Another new feature: the sequence of presidential decrees. Instead of signing them in the calm and solemnity of an office, as was the case in 2017, Donald J. Trump preferred this time to sign some on stage, “live”, in the Capital One sports hall Arena, in front of 20,000 fans. There, one kilometer from the White House, the stage beast did not disappoint his audience. During this umpteenth meeting, he crushed his predecessor, vowed to put an end to “woke madness”, promised to secure the Mexican border, announced an era of prosperity “like the United States has never known” and assured that America would discover with him “a new golden age”.
Finally, like John Kennedy announcing the Apollo space program, he launched a new challenge to American astronauts: the Mars goal! In the land of Buffalo Bill, the inventor of the Wild West, the first great spectacle depicting the Wild West, the show must go on ! “I hope that my election will be remembered as the most important in the history of our country,” the president ventured, confirming what former Fox News star Bill O’Reilly had already announced to readers from L’Express a month ago: “He thinks of his posterity.”
And Trump doesn’t want to waste a minute “making history.” Thus, a state of emergency has already been declared at the border with Mexico where the president is reinstating his policy “Remain in Mexico”. Rather effective in combating illegal immigration, it was abolished by Joe Biden when he arrived at the White House. More spectacular: the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is resurrected. Implemented at a time when the country feared going to war with France, this “foreign enemies law” should make it possible to expel naturalized American foreigners who are members of a criminal organization. And this, even if they are only 14 years old. The Mexican drug cartels which sow death by importing Fentanyl (an opioid which causes around 70,000 deaths by overdose each year) will be placed on the list of terrorist organizations, along with Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda or the Houthis. Measures applauded by a majority of Americans whose country saw an influx of 7 to 11 million illegal immigrants during Joe Biden’s mandate.
State of energy emergency
In the economic domain, Donald Trump will require members of his government to “mobilize at all levels to reduce prices and inflation.” This involves, he declared in his inaugural speech, a reduction in public spending. By declaring a “state of national energy emergency”, a first in the country’s history, the president also wants to “boost” oil and gas production by drilling at all costs, according to his slogan “Drill, baby , drill!” or “Dig, baby, dig!” “We are going to fill our strategic reserves while lowering the world price of black gold.” As a bonus, fossil fuels will receive a boost with the cancellation of the Green New Deal’s environmental policies and the revocation of benefits linked to the purchase of electric cars. “You can buy the car you want!” he exclaimed. Trump will also increase customs duties: “Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich foreign countries, we will do the opposite: tax foreign countries to enrich our fellow citizens!” This policy, however, risks having two consequences: an increase in workers’ wages and the prices of imported products, resulting in a possible inflationary effect.
The fact remains that the Democrats, notably Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, seated in the front row of the inauguration ceremonies, must have had an unpleasant time. Not only did Trump continue to attack their policies with appalling brutality and without the slightest fair play, but he also tried to rub salt in the electoral wound by pointing out that he had clearly progressed in Latino and black electorates. “I won’t forget you!” he promised the members of these two ethnic groups. And added, as a snub to the outgoing black vice-president: “In honor of Martin Luther King, we are going to accomplish his dream,” he declared, referring to the famous speech “I have a dream” delivered in 1963 by the pastor, a few meters from the Capitol.
“The Democrats are knocked out on their feet,” notes Americanist Françoise Coste, an expert on political life and author of Reagan (Perrin). The proof is that unlike 2017 when a large anti-Trump protest movement was organized with, in particular, a Women’s March in Washington, nothing massive took place this time. On the contrary, a feeling of invincibility dominates among the Republicans who hold the majority in the Senate, the House of Representatives and, even, the Supreme Court. If we add to this that the mainstream media, traditionally progressive, are overtaken by social networks today in the hands of conservatives Elon Musk (X) and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), the picture is complete.
These days, it is enough to see the crestfallen expression of CNN journalists – once hegemonic – to understand the defeat of the Democrats in the current culture war. Another indicator of the low morale of the American left is, for example, the poor performance of the Democrats during Pete Hegseth’s Senate hearing. The senators have never destabilized this notoriously underqualified candidate that Donald Trump wants to place at the head of the Department of Defense. “After the slap of 2016, the second slap of 2024 acts like a cold shower, judges Amy Greene, author of America faces its fractures (Tallandier). Something is wrong and the Democrats are trying to figure out what went wrong.” Obviously, they have not yet figured out what. “They are at the beginning of the process, their self-examination is just beginning,” argues Amy Greene.
End of Wokism
No doubt this introspection will lead them to measure the way in which Wokism has, through its excesses, weighed on the ballot. Laughable or tragic, like the student slogan “Queers for Gaza” which could be translated as “Gays (or lesbians, bi or trans) for Gaza”. Curiously, the news in recent weeks has provided a new illustration of the excesses of Affirmative Action (positive discrimination) policies, today encompassed under the term DEI (i.e. Diversity, Inclusion, Equality) and rejected by a growing number of Americans. At the head of the Los Angeles firefighters since 2022, Kristin M. Crowley, who is criticized for her poor management of fires, finds herself at the heart of a large controversy. Trumpists accuse her of having been appointed to this position because of her sexual orientation (she is a lesbian), under DEI policy.
From his first speech, Donald Trump alluded to the tragedy in Los Angeles which constituted the background to his rise to power. This is perhaps how we should read Trump’s return to power: as the end of the predominance of woke discourse. In one of the first executive orders he signed, the 47th president pledged to defend women against “ideological gender extremism.” “From now on,” he declared, “there will be only two genders in the United States: male and female.” This is promising.