Moeen Zafar
Donald J. Trump has had an enormous impact on the US political structure. He has been the most controversial president ever in US history.
He was the first president with no military, governmental, or public administration background—a businessman who only knew how to profiteer.
Most people remember Trump’s era due to his controversial statements and hardline narratives. Trump challenged the norms of American political culture.
He changed the political landscape of US politics and reshaped political attitudes, and his policies ultimately affected not only US politics but also US society as a whole.
Trump consistently altered the presidency as well as US’s larger political culture. Most people in the US think that the Trump era changed the Republican Party into a populist, nationalist party, causing an impact on Republicans.
The damage to the norms shifted the balance of power primarily in favor of the executive branch. Future Presidents might emulate not just his personalized style of governing but also his frank remarks about presidential power, to the disadvantage of everyone involved.
Trump claimed that his free use of social media, continuous practice of making unscripted campaign-style rally speeches, and willingness to ignore numerous centuries-old political norms constitute “modern presidential”.
His presidency had been traditional at times. His court nominations were primarily suited to conservative objectives, his tax package was a long-standing Republican wish list, and his deregulation attempts fell beyond the party’s anti-big government stance.
But how Trump acted and spoke about how he planned to govern the country was unusual. It remains to be seen if Donald Trump’s election will permanently alter how politics is conducted in the United States.
After a quarter of his presidency, it should be evident that Donald Trump’s policies are not changing. After Trump’s presidency, some unique characteristics have been revealed to him.
But it also underscored a basic reality about the character of the US presidency; it is profoundly troubling. The nature of the power any President possesses is immense, and it will reshape alliances and ideologies.
Trump imprinted the presidency, and how political players understand and portray the narrative of Trump’s mandate and the 2020 election amplifies or diminishes the political system.
Trump continued his political involvement assuring that public impressions of his administration and responses to his political moves remain unclear.
Trump may have championed an agenda that would have resulted in a higher re-election record or at the very least, avoided alienating those who couldn’t accept the president’s style of performing his job.
However, the partisanship between the political players and the trait that is both problematic in the new political environment, especially when paired with the fierce electoral struggle that the public already characterizes it.
After Trump’s presidency, a strong argument grew in US society that Trump introduced racial inequity into American society.
A substantial amount of study identifying underlying injustices and institutions in American culture existed long before Trump took office. Trump had shown little interest in reducing racial disparities.
There is now a larger tendency, especially after Trump, in American political life in which politicians in both primary and general elections refuse to accept their opponents.
This was in sharp contrast to past generations of politicians who were ready to place the defense of US democratic credibility over their political careers.
But Trump’s presidency has not only influenced US Political system but also their social practices; people are now more violent. For instance, the Supreme court decision was against abortion but many of the US public didn’t accept it and also criticized directly on Supreme Court Judges.
They started rallies and tweets against the Supreme institution of the country, which was against the norms of US culture.
Political polarization has been a long-running topic in the United States. Still, most experts in the US argue that Trump had taken it a step further by using the border to polarize opinion, appealing to far-right parties in the US that fear enlargement and were concerned about immigration harming traditional communities’ “White” tradition.
It’s been continued even after Trump, the Republican Party, and its voter is now more aggressive in their attitudes and behavior toward their opponents, especially with the Democrats. The exchange of words and comments is now harsher than before.
Trump’s presidency had not only an influence on US politics but also its social and institutional norms. Many political scientists argue that Trump’s political populism still affected US democracy and disregarded the norms of US democracy.
Many believe that US liberal democratic norms not only crumbled during the Trump era. In short, US politics is very much changed after Trump.
If things keep continuing like this, then US liberal democratic structure not only affects its social, cultural, and moral norms because all these characteristics of US society are established on Liberal democracy.
*The writer is a student of BS Political Science from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad
**The Diplomatic Insight does not take any position on issues and the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Diplomatic Insight and its staff.
