Trumpism

The term came up during the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign. It denotes a populist political method that suggests simple answers to complex political, economic and social problems and is intended to mobilise the losers of the growing social inequality, with contempt for the established political establishment. Ideologically, it has a right-wing conservative-nationalist accent,[4] whereby Trump's political style also shows traits of authoritarianism.[5]

In terms of foreign policy (in the sense of Trump’s America First), a unilateral is preferred to multilateral policy and national interests are particularly emphasized, also in the context of economic treaties and alliance obligations.[6] Repeatedly Trump has shown a disdain for Canada as well as the transatlantic partners (NATO and European Union), who have been considered the most important allies of the United States so far. [7] Another characteristic of foreign policy is a sympathy for autocratic rulers, especially for the Russian president Vladimir Putin, whom Trump often praised even before taking office[8] and during the 2018 Russia–United States summit.[9]

In terms of economic policy, Trumpism promises new jobs and more domestic investment.[10] Trump's hard line against export surpluses of American trading partners has led to a tense situation in 2018 with mutually imposed punitive tariffs between the US on the one hand and the EU and China on the other.[11] Trump secures the support of his political base, which is dissatisfied with the development in the USA so far, with a policy that strongly emphasizes nationalism, anti-elitism and criticism of globalization.[12]

Rhetorically, Trumpism is characterized by a rejection of the political establishment.[13] Trump is also rhetorically proven to act with a large number of false or at least misleading statements, which he presents as facts.[14] In this sense, a large part of the media is pejoratively called fake media by Trump because of their resulting critical coverage, while he mainly relies on the conservative channel Fox News Channel, where influential moderators (like Sean Hannity) support his policies medially. [15]

There has been an ongoing public debate whether or not Trumpism is a form of fascism.[16] The American historian Robert Paxton evaluates Trumpism as proto-fascism because of its xenophobic agenda, the repeated thematization of the national decline to be fought, and the rhetorical stylistic devices used.[17] British historian Roger Griffin considers the definition of fascism not fulfilled, since Trump does not question the politics of the United States or want to abolish its democratic institutions.[18]

Argentinean historian Federico Finchelstein discusses significant intersections between Peronism and Trumpism since a disregard for the contemporary political system (both in the area of domestic and foreign policy) is discernible.[19] Historian Christopher Browning considers the long-term consequences of Trump's authoritarian policies and the support he receives for them from the Republican Party to be potentially dangerous to democracy.[20] In the German-speaking debate, the term has so far only appeared sporadically, mostly in connection with the crisis of confidence in politics and the media. It then describes the strategy of mostly right-wing political actors to stir up this crisis in order to profit from it.[21] The British Collins English Dictionary named Trumpism after Brexit as one of its "Words of the Year 2016". According to the jury, the term denotes both Trump's ideology and his characteristic way of speaking.[22]

• Alternative facts
• Angry white men
• Birtherism
• Culture war
• Dog-whistle politics
• Make America Great Again
• Political views of Donald Trump
• Right-wing antiscience
• White backlash
• White identity politics

• David Frum: Trumpocracy. Harper, New York City 2018, ISBN 978-0-06-279673-8.
• E. J. Dionne, Thomas E. Mann, Norman Ornstein: One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported. St. Martin’s Press, New York City 2017, ISBN 978-1-250-16405-6.
• George H. Nash: American Conservatism and the Problem of Populism. In: Roger Kimball (Hrsg.): Vox Populi: The Perils and Promises of Populism. Encounter Books, New York 2017, ISBN 978-1-59403-958-4, S. 7–18.
• Jared Yates Sexton: The People Are Going to Rise Like the Waters Upon Your Shore: A Story of American Rage. Counterpoint, Berkeley 2017, ISBN 978-1-61902-956-9.
• Jack Thompson: Den Trumpismus verstehen: Die Außenpolitik des neuen amerikanischen Präsidenten. In: Sirius – Zeitschrift für Strategische Analysen, Heft 1(2), 2017, S. 109–115 (online).
• Bob Woodward: Fear. Trump in the White House. Simon & Schuster, New York 2018, ISBN 978-1-4711-8130-6.