Trumpism, Bigotry, and the Threat to American Democracy

In Trumpism, Bigotry, and the Threat to American Democracy, Larry N. Gerston examines the near-lethal combination of American bigotry and the ability of Donald Trump to take advantage of this scourge to satisfy his own political objective. The result is an individual who won election to the American presidency by adroitly pitting members of American society against one another, while presenting himself as the only person in the position to save America from itself. Having succeeded to the nation’s most important political office, Trump proceeded to use the position for his own benefit, irrespective of laws, norms, and, most important, the Constitution. So powerful was Trump that he and his minions came close to overturning the 2020 presidential election with the January 6, 2021 insurrection against the nation’s Capitol. While Trump failed in his attempt to remain in office, the threat to the wellbeing of the United States remains real.