Trump’s superpower
A few days ago, I argued that the presidential election in the United States should not be oversimplified into a gunfight between two cowboys. Then, life itself (in the form of a “lonesome rider” with a super-modern rifle) imposed the dimension of violent conflict on the political scene and society.
The bullet that passed through Donald Trump’s right ear led the former/candidate president into another dimension, where politics and myth, present and past, become one. Trump emerges from this near-death experience much stronger in many ways. His personal failures, his conviction and ongoing trials, fade away before the icon of the “bloodied warrior” raising his fist and exhorting the crowd, “Fight! Fight!” This image unites and inspires his followers, while confusing and weakening his rivals. It immediately took its place among the iconic images of collective memory.
Trump has always tried to bring the political discussion to his level, by appealing to his supporters’ emotions, by oversimplifying complex images, by raising the threat of violence (the “carnage” that he claimed to see in US society at his inauguration, the carnage that he foresees if he loses this election). The attempted assassination helps Trump bring all these issues to center-stage.
Before this, he presented himself as the solitary person standing between citizens and dark forces trying to deprive them of all that they wish to hold on to. Now he is one of those precious things that his rivals ostensibly wish to destroy. And so, the brush with death endows Trump with a superpower, it strengthens supporters’ belief in him and, at the same time, he becomes one with them. He is no longer simply the leader who sends them to take the Capitol, placing their lives in danger. Having now faced danger himself, he becomes one with them.
This superpower will determine developments in the election. And Trump will decide how America emerges from this difficult time. He has the power to provoke an ever-greater conflict – something which he had already heralded before the attempt on his life. But he could also contribute towards easing the tension, as even his most incensed followers will be obliged to heed his instructions. His first comments after the attack suggest that perhaps something has changed in Trump, that maybe he understands the responsibility of his position, that he might seek to “lower the temperature” in politics, as Joe Biden has done.
Perhaps Trump might feel so close to winning the election that he does not need division and conflict to do so. Chances of his thinking this are slim. But, as he himself may have come to believe, miracles do happen.
