Trump’s first term was an embarrassment for the far right and a victory for the center. He couldn’t even finish building the wall. Not just “the liberal establishment,” but the Republican Party prevented him from realizing his broader infrastructure push. The wall is simply not good for business: it is not only costly but could bring about a climate unfavorable to capital accumulation.
Will the same scenario be repeated in a second Trump term?
In the buildup to this election, Trump spoke of adding a “socialist ban” to his “Muslim ban,” commented that he would be a dictator (at least in clearing opponents from office) “on day one,” and indicated that he will deport millions of people. The courts blocked many aspects of his Muslim ban during his first term. The FBI slowed him down too, including through battling neo-Nazi groups in his first year: Trump had made a nod to armed right-wing gangs by telling them to “stand back and stand by.” But Trump soon replaced many judges. And the Supreme Court is now under solid conservative control. Some journalists have argued that the FBI has been subdued and cannot react the way it did in early 2017. These factors might change the dynamics. This is what most mainstream attention has focused on, and this is partly at the root of the talk of “fascism.”
But much hasn’t changed. Hence my first thesis: Trump’s economic policy positions and his relations to the working class have not shifted dramatically. The nature of his working-class support is crucial: Trump might be more popular among workers, but this popularity will be fickle so long as it isn’t supported by durable policies as well as organization and mobilization on the ground. Whether Trumpism’s relations with the business class have changed, or could change, is more complex.
Donald Trump appeals to the working class still mostly through cultural, security, and border…
Auteur: Cihan Tuğal
