Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Category: Trumpism (Page 2 of 4)

These are posts on Donald Trump and Trumpism from the blog Base and Superstructure. Trump took American politics by surprise. This provides us with a number of topics for further discussion. Some posts discuss whether Trump’s movement is fascist. Others critique the movement. Still others provide us with ways to combat against Trumpism and replace it with a class politics grounded in solidarity and the advancement of material interests. Even after Trump has left office, his movement is likely to continue as a component of American politics for years to come. These issues will be relevant for some time to come.

Trump insurrection confederate flag

Trump Insurrection: Very Bad People on Both Sides

January 14, 2021 /

Any reader not living off the grid knows about the Trump insurrection on January 6 (and second impeachment). Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol. And they did so with a bit of help from some police officers and violent conflict with others. The Trump insurrection involved a conflict between QAnon conspiracy theorists, other Trumpists, and the police. Insofar as that’s true, I’m inclined to grab and modify Trump’s ‘very fine people on both sides’ remark.

In the Trump insurrection there were, indeed, very bad people on both sides, i.e., Trumpism and policing. We might say a great deal about how the left should respond. But I’m inclined to say the left shouldn’t directly involve itself in a fight between a Trump insurrection and police officers. Because that’s not really our fight.

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white women trump

White Women and Trump, Part 2

November 19, 2020 /

After the 2016 election, I wrote a post on the status of white women in Trump’s coalition. Trump landed a surprise win over Hillary Clinton, and many people singled out white women as the key driver. In that previous post, I looked at the evidence and concluded that this is false. White women were not the key driver of Trump’s win.

White women have been moving toward the GOP for decades. They even moved slightly away from the GOP in 2016. And so, white women were not the decisive factor in Trump’s victory. It was white men who led Trump to victory. Insofar as, e.g., racial justice movements, singled out white women, it was likely because white women made a more attractive target than white men for moral appeals. Not because white women were key to Trump’s base.

With that as our starting point, let’s return to the issue of white women and Trump. How did 2020 go? Did white women vote for Trump again? Did movement in the votes of white women propel Biden to victory?

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Trump blew it

2020 Election Reaction: Trump Blew It

November 5, 2020 /

Polls showed Joe Biden in the lead over Donald Trump from start to finish. And then he won bigly. In fact, they showed just about anyone the Democrats might nominate defeating Trump. Therefore, we might conclude that no surprises occurred. Everyone expected Biden to beat Trump, and he did*. A tidy election.

As it turns out, not exactly. For one, that’s not quite a valid argument. Perhaps more relevant to readers’ purposes, its conclusion is also false. But we’re not here to nitpick at logic. The point is that plenty of people expected Trump to win. Mostly liberals and left-leaners concerned about a second Trump term and prone to fret about electoral fraud. But the sentiment took in many analysts and pundits, too.

So why did that happen? And why did Biden win, anyway?

The short answer: Trump blew it. Bigly.

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a primer on trumpism

A Primer on Trumpism

September 14, 2020 /

Good news! I’ve been working on a new project for the last couple of months, and I’m ready to announce it. Today, I released a new e-book for Kindle. It’s called A Primer on Trumpism: Understanding and Fighting the U.S. Far-Right.

Readers will certainly recognize some of the themes for the e-book. In it, I collect some thoughts on Trump and the broader Trumpism movement. I’ve covered this topic several times on the blog, but in the e-book I update this material and tie it together more comprehensively.

I priced the e-book at a good bargain of $3.99, which I hope most readers can afford. The accessible price should broaden readership. Please click the title above and enjoy!

Image Source: Sasha Kimel on Flickr
donald trump wwe character

Donald Trump: The Character

January 27, 2020 /

“Donald Trump looks and sounds like a professional wrestling character.” People say this figuratively, but they should mean it literally. He looks and sounds like a professional wrestling character because he is one. In fact, the WWE elected him to its Hall of Fame in 2013. His wrestling character isn’t the whole story of Trumpism, but it’s a major part.

Let’s explore that, shall we?

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