Surviving Trump: Fixing a Democracy Under Pressure

In a test of its democracy that makes Watergate look almost trivial in comparison, the US will need to dig deep to survive the fallout of the Trump presidency. And while speculation on what happens next is rife, one thing is certain: history shows that US democracy will survive for no other reason than it must.

With formative events like Watergate, the Cuban Crisis, and 9 11 taking it to the very brink of destruction, few countries have weathered the number and scale of domestic and global crises, as the US. A while the relative merit of response strategies is likely to be debated by experts from every generation, the US has, up until now, been able to maintain its position as the bastion global democracy. 

That the foundations of that democracy have been shaken to the core, with demands that the election results be overturned on nothing more than the whim of its 45th president, is undeniable. And while we can only speculate as to the long-term legacy of the president and his calculated undermining of democratic process, there is cause for optimism that the US will find its way out of its current crises.

The Good News

With the spectacular ousting of the Republicans in the Georgia run-offs, Biden has a relatively clear path to reform. Of course, it remains to be seen how he will maintain unity between moderates and progressives within the party, which will be the key to pushing through his agenda.

And although the NASDAQ dropped on the promise of tech reform, as a whole, the market responded favorably to the promise of greater stimulus spending. This is just one of many COVID-19 initiatives the Biden administration will implement to arrest the virus’s crippling death rate and economic punishment from the virus.

Innovation-driven Recovery

Small business, the electric car sector, and renewable energy sectors also look to be winners in the Biden economy. As I have pointed out before, despite the likelihood of big tech reform, companies supporting the use of technology to combat climate change are likely to do extremely well. Investing in renewable technology and innovation to address climate change promises economic and societal benefits that are sure to shore up support for the Biden Harris ticket beyond its initial term.

Given the escalating tension with China and Russia, defense spending for next 20 years is likely to spill over into cyberspace as a new battlefield is opened. The challenge, of course, will be in how well Biden can balance the regulation of the same big tech companies that he will rely upon to drive the country’s innovation investment.

So while the weeks since the November election have played out like a bad Hollywood blockbuster, the Biden administration, with its emphasis on renewal and recovery, looks set to deliver the stability largely missing from the government since 2016.

10th January 2021

Trump Presidency

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