US set to replace decency with the vulgarity of an Idi Amin
WATCHING the shambles unfolding in Washington since the presidential election, one is almost tempted to sit back and mutter, with a measure of glee and satisfaction, that Americans should be allowed to stew in their own juices.
They walked into this calamity with their eyes wide open.
The world will be a different place before the week is out. In Donald Trump, voters could not have chosen a man more out of tune with the idea or meaning of America to be their president. It will be a tumultuous, even traumatic, four years.
The US has now made its bed, and unfortunately the rest of humanity will have to lie in it. Its remit tends to go way beyond its borders.
Trump’s election has debunked the nonsensical notion of American exceptionalism. Like any other country, there’s nothing special about it. The only difference is it’s the biggest economy on earth and therefore can afford the most powerful weapons and army. When you’re armed, people tend to listen when you speak.
Its elections can also be expropriated or stolen, as George W Bush showed 16 years ago, or as the Russians have stunningly done now.
That is not to suggest that the US is a dysfunctional democracy. It simply means that restricting election monitors to so-called Third World countries may be a tad myopic or oldfashioned. Countries like the US can also benefit from such assistance.
Some have compared Trump to Jacob Zuma. That’s a bit off the mark. Zuma is corrupt and incompetent, but he’s a genial fellow. He giggles a lot. Trump is crude and obnoxious. A smile is not something one associates with him. Zuma has wreaked havoc in this country; with Trump in charge, the whole planet is in peril.
There’s perhaps one person who comes to mind when looking at Trump: Uganda’s late president for life, Field-Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin — vile, verbose, ignorant, with a thin skin and a gargantuan ego. He’s buffoonery personified.
Trump threatens to destabilise an international order that has endured since the end of World War 2. America’s friends are thus concerned; its foes giddy but unsure. Africa, as usual, will be at the back of the queue.
The arms race between the superpowers led to a proliferation of nuclear weapons that could have wiped the rest of humanity off the face of the earth. That competition ultimately led to the destruction of the Soviet Union — a sore point for Vladimir Putin. His mission has always been to recapture Russia’s lost glory. That includes, in part, fracturing the Western alliance.
He has instantly succeeded beyond his wildest dream. He now has his own poodle in the White House. Trump could be Putin’s wrecking ball — a stunning achievement.
“If Putin likes me,” Trump proudly said this week, “that’s an asset, not a liability.” He spoke like the businessman he is, but that also shows his naivety.
Putin is a wily operator and he’s also exploited Obama’s at times languid timidity, running rings around him in trouble spots such as Syria and Ukraine. His interference in the presidential elections of such a major power is an audacious act, even for the old fox. Obama tried to mete out some punishment by expelling Russian diplomats but the horse had already bolted. Putin simply laughed it off and refused to return the favour. He’s hoping for better relations with Trump.
An emboldened Republican Party, which has built its brand over the years on anti-communist rhetoric, must be pretty uncomfortable with Trump’s new form of detente with Putin. His denigration of US intelligence — cornerstone of its security apparatus — is unheard of and must stick in the craw.
But they will bide their time, hoping Trump’s recklessness will eventually hasten his demise.
In such an eventuality, his vicepresident, Mike Pence, a true conservative, will take over. That would suit them perfectly.
At the moment, though, the Republicans are just too pleased to see the back of Obama, whose victory and occupation of the White House they almost saw as an affront to their humanity. They have a historic moment not only to undo his accomplishments and wipe his name off the slate, but also to roll back the power of the state for generations to come.
As Obama took office eight years ago, there were allusions to a post- racial America. He departs with grim references to the return of Jim Crow. Both sentiments are obviously a bit overdone, but there’s no doubt Trump was propelled to power by people who believe the past was better than the present.
It must be a sore point for Obama not only that his efforts in office could all be in vain, but that he is being succeeded by someone whose political career was founded on a racist campaign to delegitimise his presidency. It is an indictment of the US that so many people find such a man acceptable as their leader.
Perhaps it is the vulgarity of the Trump presidency that will ultimately oblige Americans to appreciate Obama’s decency. Those a little longer in the tooth will remember this line from a popular song: Don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone.