Note: I wrote and published this in March, but its even more relevant now.
The scariest thing about Donald Trump isn’t that he’s stoking racial fears. That’s scary in and of itself, but it’s not the scariest thing. And it’s not that Trump’s destroying the Republican Party, though he is. I’m no fan of the current variation of the GOP. They’re all pretty scary. But single party domination simply doesn’t work, and the demise of the GOP will cause all sorts of problems. And that is scary stuff, but it is far from the scariest thing about Trump.
The scariest thing about Trump isn’t that he could win, though that’s pretty scary. I have faith in the institutions of government, so I’m not too afraid of a Trump Presidency. Many people are scared of some of Trump’s ideas, like building walls, banning Muslims, and deporting millions of aliens. Those are truly scary ideas, but the reality is that we have a constitutional system of government, and despite all his bluster, Trump won’t be able to do a fraction of the things he proposes. Take, for example, the idea of building a wall along the Mexican border. How would that get done? It will take a bill to authorize it, then other bills to appropriate the money. Each will go through the convoluted process of enacting legislation, and it won’t be quick, it won’t be easy, and very likely won’t happen without significant changes. Each step will be a fight. And if a bill to build a wall does get passed, and the project does get funded, the proposal will then get tied up for years in litigation.
And the scariest thing about Trump isn’t that he’ll get elected and actually get some of his ideas pushed through Congress. It would be a national disgrace if we built a wall in the desert of New Mexico and Arizona, or institute a visa ban on Muslims, or attempt to round up and deport millions of people. Those are horrible things and would be a tragedy for millions of people, and that’s sickening. But it’s not the real scary thing.
The real scary thing is what happens next. Building walls, deporting aliens, and banning Muslims, none of those things are going to revive the American economy. Walls, deportations and bans have nothing to do with the economy, so how could they change anything? The dispossessed rural whites who make up the bulk of Trump supporters will not see their lives changes by the successful adoption of a single Trump policy.
Trump’s supporters are scared and disoriented, and desperately looking for answers and solutions, and Trump seems to offer them. Imagine what will happen when those solutions fall flat, as they inevitably will.
Trump supporters are angry and outraged and at the boiling point. We see this rage at Trump rallies as his supporters attack protesters. They’re convinced the world if falling apart, and Trump will fix things. They appear to be on edge, and nearly ready to revolt.
How will they react when Trump fails? Who will they blame if he loses the election? Who will they turn against then?
Who will they blame if Trump wins the election, and fails to enact any of his proposals? Congress in general, but Democrats in particular, and the weak willed Republicans who tried to stop him.
But what if he does get some of his kooky proposals enacted into law, and they don’t work (because they can’t work)? What will they do then? Who can they blame then?
The mood of Trump’s supporters is ugly: they’re about to explode. The election of Trump will only stoke expectations, and turn up the heat. Enacting his policies will create unrealistic expectations. The failure of those policies could push things past the boiling point. And that’s what’s really scary.