Steve,
Thanks for this. I realize you weren’t predicting the election; I was. And expecting a Trump presidency, it occurred to me that, no matter what, the entire world is fucked from climate change.
But the more I correspond with comments on this article, the more I realize how woefully I under-presented my case. I’ve received the (understandable) negative feedback that I must just be a white CIS male and therefore unconcerned, or that my only concern could be for myself. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think of the climate crisis globally, and most of the suffering happening around the world RIGHT NOW related to it in some way. It is more than an issue, it is an all-encompassing, all-pervading reality. Everything about life on earth, as you know, is changing, and will effect every last soul, every last economic, geopolitical, and ultimately existential decision. So again, in general, these concerns eclipse any I have about Trump, EVEN when I consider my fellow Americans who are in different walks of life.
I DON'T WANT HIM PRESIDENT, but if he is, it's not him that makes me worry about social collapse.
Finally, two articles I think would have been useful to cite in the article: the ones from Pew and Reuters I’ll link below.
Because what exactly did the Trump 2016-2020 presidency bring? He shattered our norms and values, no question. And this can’t be overstated, because it greatly affects our perception of him, as well as our perception as to the condition of our democracy. I think there is *some* risk that we have as distorted a view of the “end of democracy” as MAGA nuts have that “the economy is so bad / crime is so high” right now nonsense.
But aside from being deeply divisive, his ham-handling of Covid, and the conspiracy-theorist smorgasbord of Jan 6, is Trump’s policy record actually that anomalous from other Republican presidents? Arguably, his biggest impact was to the federal courts. And his questioning of NATO.
I still think there have been worse, darker moments in POLICY history. Yes, he could prove me wrong. I hope not.
Anyway, I don’t want to be his apologist. AT ALL. I think Trump is an egomaniacal mobster-wannabe. But I still think the fear that HE will upend our way of life distracts from the actual existential threat of the climate crisis that will.
TJB
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/01/29/how-america-changed-during-donald-trumps-presidency/
