After the midterms, the global right is reeling. But the danger of Trumpism will never be gone
The Guardian · Jonathan Freedland ·
Yes, the Republicans suffered humiliating defeat. But the fact that a Trump presidency was even possible means something like it could happen again, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
He’s down, but not quite out. Barring divine or other intervention, Donald Trump will remain in the Oval Office for a further two years and 10 weeks. Or, as the White House put it in a plaintive social media post brimming with neediness: “PSA [Public Service Announcement]: Trump is still your president.” But that’s not the only reason why the global celebrations that greeted the Democratic tidal wave that swept Republicans out of even their deepest heartlands should be tempered, if only a tad.
Don’t get me wrong, the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections are cause for genuine international jubilation. The defeats of Trump allies in Serbia and Brazil were delicious appetisers, but this was the feast. No mere electoral setback in line with midterm tradition, this was a thorough repudiation of the second Trump presidency and of Trumpism. The 16% swing to Democrats in the popular vote for the House of Representatives was greater even than the 11.2% swing recorded in the Watergate midterms of November 1974, following the resignation in disgrace of Richard Nixon. Trump had worked hard for many months to undermine these elections, either by gerrymandering districts in his favour or preparing the ground for a later claim the vote was rigged, but to no avail: the democratic system proved too resilient, and the American public too determined to have their say. And have it they did, in a voice loud and clear.
Beyond the US, the temptation will be strong to see this as the moment the wheels came off the authoritarian, nationalist populist bandwagon that has rolled through so much of our politics this past decade. Viktor Orbán’s fall in April was pivotal, but the humiliation of Trump was always going to matter more. Thanks to the sheer might of the US, Trump has for a decade been the engine of the illiberal international. And now it is sputtering.
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