Managing a company, especially a family business, is entirely different from running the world's most powerful country. The choices and the statements you make are rightly weighed on a gold platter. Not only by voters but also by Congressmen, journalists, and - how could it be any different if you represent so much power - by other world leaders, your peers. What you do and what you say is recorded, analyzed, and interpreted. Acts and words have consequences that extend far beyond running your own business and unabashedly pushing your own will. This often creates awkward situations for Donald Trump. His propensity for autocrats can probably be explained to a large extent by this.

His personality structure doesn't help him, either. A very recent film entitled '#Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump' (see review) sheds a brilliant light on this. Conclusion of the film: the President is an evil narcissist who is plagued by a narcissistic personality disorder, deep and rampant paranoia, decades of sadistic tendencies, and anti-social behavior. As an (absolutely prejudiced) outsider, I think I can easily recognize him in this description. Many dictators probably fit that description as well. Those dictators, however, do not lead a genuine democracy. A democracy where the separation of powers is not only enshrined in the Constitution but is also taken seriously by virtually everybody, with the notable exception of one ... the President himself. Trump governs the United States as he governs The Trump Organization. Top-down! Running a government, however, is not a top-down affair and involves many actors with balancing powers.

What is all the fuzz about, and why is there a problem?

There are several implications from various critical or threatening perspectives. The common denominator in Trump's case is that they undermine the proper functioning of democracy.

I will elaborate on a number of those below.

Government

Early in his presidency, Trump launched attacks on the tax system, bureaucracy, regulations, and treaties. At first glance, this may seem beneficial. Still, in reality, it amounts to dismantling millions of Americans' benefits, lifting restrictions on business, and neglecting international obligations in many areas. Steve Bannon, Trumps' Chief Executive during his presidential campaign and later his Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor was explicit: Trump's plan is focused on the 'Deconstruction of the Administrative State.' No other president has ‘achieved’ as much as Trump in such a short time. Previous decisions, hard-fought by Congress and prior presidents, have now been reversed. Federal institutions' influence has been eroded, and civil servants have been actively undermined and demoralized. Trump is waging war against the American system of checks and balances. Meanwhile, at least from his perspective, he did score essential points. This is problematic from several angles: the wealthy under-contribute to society, the poor become more vulnerable, companies can do as they please, and essential and necessary international agreements on the environment, arms control, and trade go to waste.

Facilitating system

All this is impossible without a facilitating system of like-minded loyalists. Within a system where the separation of powers has been thoroughly argued, it is staggering that the Republican-dominated Senate is so uncritically on the President's leash. Nationwide, individual Republicans are more moderate than their representatives in the Senate. So why this loyalty? The answer may be that Trump fulfills essential priorities on the Republican wish list. He has appointed more Republican-oriented federal judges than any president before him in the last 60 years. His tax plans have been applauded by Republican Senators (their wealthy donors are thrilled, ordinary voters perhaps less). Deregulation has also traditionally been high on the wish list of Republicans; Trump's steps in that direction have been accepted with gratitude. The price for all this is to look away if you don't like it, even if the Constitution is violated. Step by step, the Republicans get more and more grip on the system. The government is weakening, the judiciary is becoming more ideological, and the political opposition more political. Gone is the tricky political middle ground where reasonable people soften their positions and compromise. You could say that all of this is part of the political game. Still, the danger lies in the potential irreversibility of political polarization and disregard for the constitutional oath and duties to which everyone is bound by their role.

Structural Lying

The question here is not whether Trump is a compulsive liar, but why. What purpose does it serve? It seems to me that two levels need to be distinguished in this respect.

The first is the personal level: victory must be fought every day. In Trump's own words (1981), "Man is the most vicious of all animals, and life is a series of battles ending in victory or defeat." Life choices are a zero-sum goal. His personality is shaped by a ruthless and demanding father; failure is not an option, and weakness must be prevented at all costs. Morality is out of scope. Lying is nothing more than a means which justifies the goal of 'winning.' Every story, every news fact that contradicts his intended objective or threatens his chance of 'winning,' must be defused and put away as 'fake news.'

On the second level, it is a matter of providing his supporters with 'arguments' to enable them to stand off against his (Trump's) enemies. The lies, strange as that may sound, give them a 'good and safe bubble feeling' and strengthen the group feeling ('we against them'). It fits into the poisoning polarization that has increasingly taken hold of American society. Whereas people used to have a more or less strong affinity with one party, or with specific points of view, nowadays there is much more identification with groups ('tribes'). As you also see in dictatorial environments, lies, and denial are an increasingly powerful means of mobilizing and uniting the loyal supporters against 'the' despicable opposition. Trump shows himself to be a rare and shameless master in this and uses his lies cleverly and effectively to achieve his political agenda.

Corruption

The corruption under Trump goes beyond improperly obtaining financial benefits as a result of fulfilling a public function. This in no way means that there is no such thing under Trump. The whole family is deeply involved in his presidency. His hotels benefit from the meetings organized there by him and to those angling for his favor.

Worse, there is a moral corruption that goes further than before. Apparently, different standards apply to Trump and his entourage than to others. For example, while Trump's predecessors abided by the law to prevent civil servants from being involved in political activities (my summary), Republicans flout this law. The use of the White House as the venue for Trumps' Republican Party Convention and staff members' involvement in its organization and management of this meeting is unusual at the very least. It is contrary to the law's intent and spirit and most likely to the law's letter. Nevertheless, Trump's Chief of Staff shrugs his shoulders and states that "Nobody outside of the Beltway (Washington D.C.) really cares. They expect that Donald Trump is going to promote Republican values".

How William Barr, the Minister of Justice, has dealt with the Mueller report and his sentencing intervention on Trump's behalf for Richard Stone are two other examples of blatantly promoting Trump's private agenda. The Minister of Justice (official title: Attorney General) is the highest official responsible for enforcing the United States' federal laws. The President is subject to those federal laws. No exceptions are possible. Yet Barr shamelessly acts as the President's personal attorney rather than the Minister of Justice. It contributes to the President's office becoming increasingly inviolable and above the law. This is dangerous because Trump himself seems to think that this is already the case. His 2016 statement: "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters," is a case in point. Apparently, he sees no legal implications of such an act, but only refers to what voters would think of it. This is typical Trump. It not only encourages moral recklessness, it grossly undermines the balance and credibility of the other players in the system of the separation of powers.

Loyalty

As indicated and contrary to Trump's belief, the U.S. president is not above the law but is subservient to the Constitution and the President's office. At every inauguration, a new president declares or swears that he will faithfully perform his office as President and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.

He is not the only one to make a declaration or take an oath. Elected representatives at federal and state levels, civil servants, and judges appointed by the President have their own. They declare or swear before taking office, to comply with the Constitution, and defend it against all national and international enemies.

Trump expects unconditional loyalty from his appointees: "I need loyalty, I expect loyalty." This was painfully demonstrated at Trump's first full cabinet meeting, six months (!) after he took office. In an almost North Korean fashion, his cabinet members went out of their way to shower him with expressions of loyalty and compliments. The problem is that Trump forces his appointees to choose between their commitment to him and adherence to the Constitution. Imposing such a choice is unethical and unconstitutional. Adherence to the Constitution over loyalty to Trump will cost you your job. Loyalty to Trump over the Constitution is treason. Only a few Trump-appointed authorities have chosen to put their honor and allegiance to the Constitution above a blind adherence to Trump and have resigned their position. Many others apparently lack that integrity or are so opportunistic that they have no problem taking a run at the Constitution. Some of them, in turn, has been ousted by Trump and thrown away like garbage. Loyalty in Trump-land only flows in one direction: bottom-up, never down.

Media

We can be brief about this. The United States sees itself as the cradle of freedom of speech and press freedom; these freedoms are constitutionally protected. Oddly enough, its President can get away by dismissing reliable media as 'fake news media.' He doesn't shy away from intimidation and sticking denigrating labels on his opponents, hoping that they 'stick.' Subsequently, Fox News' Sean Hannity and company amplify Trump's lies and insinuations without hesitation or contradiction. Their success lies in the repetition, and the diarrhea of nonsense, due to its quantity, is hard to 'fact-check.' How is it possible that that Trump can sweep out 20,055 false or misleading claims into the world in 1,267 days and still be considered a credible presidential candidate? Through his obsessive focus on imaging, Trump successfully dominates and manipulates the media landscape with relatively peaceful means. How much worse does it have to get before it gets any better?

‘Guardians of the constitution’

Based on current insights, Trump's chances of being re-elected are limited, but that was no different four years ago. Based on Five Thirty Eight predictions, Biden is 92 voters ahead of Trump as of September 1, 2020. However, this says little. In 2016, on the same date, Trump was 104 electoral votes behind Hilary Clinton. We now know how those elections ended. As mentioned above, Trump hates failure. He will use every means at his disposal to improve his chances.

To further his objectives, he will not shy away from leaning on informal forces within society that are not (directly) bound by their oath to the Constitution. I am mainly referring to the militias protected by the second amendment of the Constitution and their right to bear arms. Trump has long been the presidential cheerleader of these, often (extreme) right-wing organizations. They justify their existence by the supposed need to protect their country from a government that invades individual citizens' privacy, house, or property. In this context, it is easy to explain that Trump portrays his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, as a radical-left instrument. This generally works well as a red rag for the militia. Simultaneously, Trump tries to mobilize the fears of white, often racist citizens with his 'Law and Order' strategy, according to a tried and tested American recipe at the time of elections. Coincidentally, this is also the group where the militias find many of their members. Assuming to increase his re-election chances, he unhesitatingly ignites the fires of unrest, destruction, and violence that followed outrage from many about the disproportionate way the (federal) police act against black citizens.

Militia cartoon (Latuff Cartoons).gif — Latuff Cartoons

Whether and how the militia will respond to Trump's ostentatiously affectionate retweets of intimidation-focused militia activities is still questionable. It shows that Trump doesn't shy away from winning the militia over and pulling strings. This is extremely dangerous, particularly if Trump does not like the election results in November. It could kickstart an escalation between militia (support Trump), army (support the Constitution), and civilians (support democracy). A preview of this is Portland's incidents. The escalating violence between Antifas, militias, and the police has resulted in two deaths. It doesn't matter if Trump wants it all to come this far; he gives his supporters the signal to count on his support. For the time being, in any case, it cannot be said with certainty whether the election results will be accepted without any form of violence. For a democratic country like the United States, the existence of such doubt is a sad fact.

In conclusion

There are voices that, as expressed above, wave away concerns, and trust in the common sense of Americans, their system of democracy, and the way the judiciary functions. I hope that this trust is justified, but I have many doubts about it. Each of the facts and circumstances described above is probably in themselves insufficient cause for concern. In the case of previous presidents, too, boundaries undoubtedly have been crossed as well. However, it is the accumulation of all facts and circumstances that worries me. With his continuous transgressive behavior, he deliberately plays with fire, without giving the impression of overseeing the consequences. Given his actions in previous crisis situations, it is also impossible to estimate whether Trump can get it back in again once the spirit has left the bottle. In fact, it does not matter whether he acts out of an awkwardness fed by his ego and personality (mentally unfit), or out of calculation, with a plan (politically unfit). The result is chaos. Is the American political system capable of dealing with it? Let's hope that it does not come to that, and he will be quickly and definitively unmasked for what he is: #unfit.

All this further underlines that the rules of 1788, when the Constitution was ratified, do not fit the complexity of today's society and political structures. Due to the polarization of the political spectrum and the dogmatism of all parties involved in the separation of powers, it will be nearly impossible to adapt the Constitution to our times. For the time being, this seems to be one of the most significant vulnerabilities in the American democratic system and its power in the world.

This 'system,' both nationally as internationally, will not survive another four years of Trump. The United States needs new leadership. However, I am not sure that the Democrats have positioned the best opposing candidate with Joe Biden. The fact that he has been vice-president for eight years in no way means that he qualifies for President's office and, indeed, neither does his age of 77. The best reason to vote for Biden is probably his running-mate Kamala Harris. She has the experience, the intellect, and the hardness to exercise the office. We can only hope that the Biden-Harris duo beat Trump and Pence on knockout. If not, the United States will have a very tough future ahead.

TRANSLATION from the original Dutch article facilitated by Deepl and Grammarly

A most unpresidential president