Opinion | How to explain Donald Trump, an American Hitler in the Making

By Philip Yeung, university teacher

PKY480@gmail.com

Trump is a phenomenon that appears only once in a thousand years. East or West, he is the most indicted, impeached and sued politician in history. The ultimate Teflon-don, he is utterly shameless and scandal-proof. Nothing ever sticks to him. A lesser politician would have been felled by one of his 91 indictments. But, unbelievably, Trump actually profits from his crimes, the more the merrier, as he laughs all the way to the bank with donations pouring in from his gullible supporters.

Something strange has happened in America. The country, leader of the "free world", has become shock-proof. Trump reigns as a crime-ridden cult leader, commanding the loyalties of millions of simple-minded followers. A cult, by definition, runs on extremism, irrationality and gullibility. His followers have sworn that they will vote for him even if he is in prison. Ponder this possibility: Trump may govern from the jail house, instead of the White House. Don't laugh. He has just won the Iowa caucus convincingly. He is ready to clobber Biden at the ballot box.

Trump's comeback has left millions puzzled: How can a man who has been certified by a panel of alarmed psychiatrists as a mad megalomaniac be elected or re-elected president? What does this say about American democracy? Not just unhinged, Trump is also litigation-happy, practically living in the courtroom. Trump is bad news for his own people. Just ask the jailed January 6 insurrectionists or his lawyers who are either jailed (Michael Cohen), indicted (Sidney Powell) or bankrupt (Rudy Giuliani). You serve Trump at your own peril.

The world is bracing for Trump's return to the White House. He is an international joke, except there is nothing funny about this dangerous sociopath. He has forewarned that his next presidency will be a retribution, and a dictatorship, on day one, if only for a day.

Trump has baffled pundits. Trump is now bigger than himself. He has spawned entire ecosystems in the media and the Republican Party. A legion of late-night comedians get their oxygen from Trump. He is a virus that has infected the right wing of the American political system. Four factors explain this Trump disease:

1. Trump feeds the radical right-wing populists who are squaring off against the left-wing LGBT-pandering liberals. He gives them voice.

2. Trump stokes fears about "immigrants poisoning the American blood". He has been busy fanning this hatred against immigrants, determined to keep them out with a border wall, with ominous echoes of Hitler's crazy talk about protecting the purity of Aryan blood. He has broken the taboo for red-necks and white supremacists.

3. Like a cult leader, he turns his followers inwards into America-first xenophobes. But Trump is only out for Trump, even when he ridiculously claims he is "being indicted for you." He plays them like a fiddle.

4. Trump is a product of Fox News and right-wing media outlets. They know that the more extreme the views, the stronger the stranglehold on the viewership. It is not about seeking the truth journalistically. It is about keeping the ratings high and the viewers addicted. Trump's own social media platform is laughably named Truth Social. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Last time, Trump ran on the slogan of "draining the swamp" in Washington. On the contrary, he has turned it into a more stinking swamp.

Politically, Trump is bullet-proof. He fears only one person: Putin. The theory goes that Trump's sycophantic behavior towards the Russian leader is because Putin has allegedly in his possession compromising videos of Trump in a Moscow hotel where a bevy of call girls were peeing onto a bed. Trump fears that this could be a career-ending skeleton in the closet. He needs not worry. As a cult figure, he can do no wrong. No deed, however dark, or revolting, will damage his cult status. True, for other office-seekers, the bar remains high. But for Trump, no bar is too low. Rape, hush payments, fraud or even insurrection. Nothing sticks and nothing ever will. He is simply 21st century's perfect Teflon con man turned president. Cult leaders like Trump may be terminally stupid, but they can indulge themselves far better than Hitler could.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.

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