In this CBC TV interview, Henry Giroux explains that Trump’s popularity can, in part, be attributed to at least three issues.
First, since 9/11, the US government has stoked a culture of fear that has given rise to a national anxiety over terrorists, mainly focused on the fear of Muslims. This culture of fear provides a disturbing breeding ground for a culture of hate and cruelty, which Trump has tapped into. Shared fears have replaced shared responsibilities.
Second, celebrity culture is now the dominating educational influence in the US, cheapening serious and thoughtful discourse and putting into play a focus on lifestyles and personalities. This has given rise to a mainstream media that devalue politics, treat politicians as celebrities, refuse to give them a serious hearing and are unwilling to raise tough questions.
Finally, the Republican Party has been telling its followers to be angry since the 1980s, but not about issues that matter. This has fueled a culture of bigotry, racism, hate, nativism and demagoguery. Donald Trump has tapped into such fears and anxieties and uses them to his own political advantage in driving the media while spewing hate and indulging in inflammatory commentaries.
As Timothy Egan has pointed out, Trump is keenly aware that the distinction between the ostensibly serious and the self-evident frivolous have collapsed. Everything is now a performance designed to inflame, shock and elevate emotion over reason. The latter is particularly important because it has allowed Trump to run a media-centric campaign using his celebratory status to drive the media, rather than the other way around. He has also mobilized the darkest elements of Republican Party ideology and has been able to put together a coalition of followers who hate democracy, tolerance and justice itself. By feeding off widespread anger, Trump makes clear that he is in exaggerated form symptomatic of a larger problem, which is an assault on democracy itself.
Truthout Is Preparing to Meet Trump’s Agenda With Resistance at Every Turn
Dear Truthout Community,
If you feel rage, despondency, confusion and deep fear today, you are not alone. We’re feeling it too. We are heartsick. Facing down Trump’s fascist agenda, we are desperately worried about the most vulnerable people among us, including our loved ones and everyone in the Truthout community, and our minds are racing a million miles a minute to try to map out all that needs to be done.
We must give ourselves space to grieve and feel our fear, feel our rage, and keep in the forefront of our mind the stark truth that millions of real human lives are on the line. And simultaneously, we’ve got to get to work, take stock of our resources, and prepare to throw ourselves full force into the movement.
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There are many terrifying planks to the Trump agenda, and we plan to devote ourselves to reporting thoroughly on each one and, crucially, covering the movements resisting them. We also recognize that Trump is a dire threat to journalism itself, and that we must take this seriously from the outset.
Last week, the four of us sat down to have some hard but necessary conversations about Truthout under a Trump presidency. How would we defend our publication from an avalanche of far right lawsuits that seek to bankrupt us? How would we keep our reporters safe if they need to cover outbreaks of political violence, or if they are targeted by authorities? How will we urgently produce the practical analysis, tools and movement coverage that you need right now — breaking through our normal routines to meet a terrifying moment in ways that best serve you?
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We promise we will kick into an even higher gear to give you truthful news that cuts against the disinformation and vitriol and hate and violence. We promise to publish analyses that will serve the needs of the movements we all rely on to survive the next four years, and even build for the future. We promise to be responsive, to recognize you as members of our community with a vital stake and voice in this work.
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With love, rage, and solidarity,
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