used , on Tuesday night (24), to promote yet another media spectacle around his nationalist and fascist theses. The American president’s vocation for entertainment is well known, he has had a radio show, was a commentator on Fox and directed the reality show “The Apprentice”.
In a book that is soon to be released, the professor and philosopher at the University of São Paulo draws attention to the “phony” trait of authoritarian populist leaders. The philosopher Theodor Adorno had already observed that fascist leaders were not exactly hypocrites, but “phonies”, that is, they mobilized humor and imposture in their performances. In the words of Safatle —the interviewee on the Ilustríssima Conversa podcast on Saturday (28)—, it is necessary to remember that “irony is a constituent element of authoritarianism”.
Considered by almost all analysts and observers as a spectacle, a theatrical act or an auditorium program, Trump’s appearance at the State of the Union reached its peak with the prank he prepared for the Democrats present in the plenary of the House of Representatives.
Almost an hour into his speech, he turned to the audience and said, “Tonight I am inviting all legislators to join my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The American government’s first duty is to protect American citizens, not illegals.”
The Democrats remained seated, giving the Republican that caught-the-suckers taste in front of everyone.
Second, the architect of the country’s stupid anti-policy, Stephen Miller, made it clear that the evening’s script had been constructed to reach mass numbers. “Zero Democrats stood up for the fundamental principle of all government that leaders must serve citizens before invaders,” Miller posted on X. “There has never been a more awesome moment in Congress.”
Trump’s immigrant policy is one of the most frightening official attacks on constitutional rights and American democracy on record. The , a kind of Gestapo for customs and immigration control, have terrorized cities and states, already accumulating a macabre toll of arbitrary arrests and, surprisingly, murders of American citizens. It is astonishing that something of this nature could happen in the country that sets itself up as a secular example of liberal democracy.
Faced with an already uncomfortable situation in opinion polls, largely due to economic problems, Trump sees the mid-term election approaching, which takes place in November. It will be, as always, a decisive moment.
To try to earn money and divert attention, he painted a rosy economy in his first year in government, and took the opportunity to renew threats against Iran, the international hot topic.
The speech will not have major consequences, but it is still a traditional and solemn occasion of North American institutional politics. In this case, filled by the performance of a leader guided by imposture and the impetus for destruction.
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