Prague, 2nd March 2025
The shocking meeting and debate between Presidents Trump and Zelensky in Washington on the last day of February raises the question of what is happening in America. It is difficult to understand the actions of President Trump and his colleagues. It is hard to comprehend why the United States would vote alongside Russia and North Korea in the United Nations Security Council. It is equally difficult to understand Trump’s dismantling of America’s ties with its allies. What’s even more perplexing is Trump’s apparent effort to dismantle the global governance system — a system that the United States helped to build with its allies after the Second World War. There is also confusion over Trump’s tariff increases and his understanding of the role of the US dollar. American voters chose Trump, and it is therefore important to understand what led them to this decision.
Trump’s supporters form an extraordinarily diverse group. One of these groups consists of voters from the Midwest, in states such as Kansas and Wisconsin, who have suffered over the past 20 years from the relocation of industrial firms to Mexico, Canada, and China. The result was not necessarily unemployment but rather the availability of jobs with relatively low wages. This, I believe, has been a major reason for the stagnation of middle-class incomes in the US over the past two decades. Only under Biden did their wages begin to rise slowly. These voters expect Trump to reverse this trend by bringing back industrial jobs from the aforementioned countries — an expectation reinforced by announcements from major firms like Apple.
Another major group supporting Trump consists of American Christians. This is remarkable because Trump’s behaviour and actions are deeply un-Christian, as described by several intelligent American clergymen whose opinions I have read. They have called Trump the worst Christian. Yet Trump secured their loyalty by promising to act on highly sensitive issues in the US — primarily abortion and marriage. This won him their support. For years, the large green lawn next to the White House has been covered annually with thousands of white crosses, planted by these pro-life activists and opponents of abortion. These issues remain very much alive, perhaps even more so than in the past.
The third significant group includes those opposing neo-liberal movements and the policy of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This resistance has grown to an intensity that Europeans have barely noticed, but it has evidently generated strong counter-reactions that are now being realised through drastic interventions by Musk, with Trump’s support, in the work of federal agencies.
This leads me to the fourth group. Americans, particularly those living inland rather than in coastal states, have historically been strongly individualistic and sceptical of the state and federal government. They detest paying taxes, emphasise self-reliance, and reject state assistance in combating poverty and providing healthcare. Trump, with Musk’s backing, has addressed these sentiments. Trump promises to reduce the number of federal employees, and both he and Musk have already begun to take steps toward this goal.
I must not forget the critical issue of immigration, which is arguably the primary reason behind Trump’s election victory. The American immigration problem has several dimensions, but I will highlight two. Firstly, it has been difficult for outsiders to understand the sensitivity of the issue. America is a nation of immigrants, which is perhaps why immigration policy has traditionally been slow and imperfect. After all, should not anyone fleeing conflict and seeking asylum be welcomed into the country? However, it is evident that a significant portion of Americans now view immigrants differently than previous generations did. Trump has responded with a “revolutionary” approach to immigration, talking about mass deportations, building a border wall, and significantly strengthening border security — measures that appeal to these voters.
Secondly, the Democrats and Biden underestimated the public’s opposition to immigration. It took them a long time to take any meaningful action, and when they finally negotiated with Republicans, Trump effectively overpowered them, even influencing Republican senators. Independently, the Democrats accomplished very little. Moreover, the sheer scale of immigration — in terms of numbers — has overwhelmed the system, leaving it unable to process asylum claims efficiently.
The sixth group of Trump supporters is perhaps the most complex. Many from this group overlap with the other groups mentioned above. There is no clear demarcation, and many hold views that cut across different political lines. In America, there has been a growing perception of the dominance of the wealthy. Political discourse on this issue has intensified recently, with increasing arguments that politics is controlled by the rich and powerful rather than by the will of the people. Many Americans suspect that government corruption ensures that the state no longer represents ordinary citizens but instead serves the interests of the wealthy elite. This suspicion extends to the influence of the rich over the media, which has driven many Americans to rely on podcasts and social media for information. Even the judiciary is no longer seen as independent and objective, with ongoing legal cases involving Trump reinforcing this perception. In Trump, these voters see a “revolutionary” figure — someone willing to challenge the system through unorthodox methods to bring about revolutionary change and “restore order.” Ironically, at Trump’s “coronation,” the wealthiest individuals in America sat in the front rows, while his newly appointed “ministers” were seated behind them.
America has clearly chosen a revolutionary path, driven in part by the desperate strategy and policy failures of the Democratic Party. Their hesitation over Biden’s position and the selection of his successor without holding primaries represented the seventh reason behind the revolutionary shift in American voters’ priorities and interests.
When America entered the First and Second World Wars, these decisions were initiated by American presidents and Congress, who had to work hard to persuade the American public to support them. Now, however, when President Trump engages in discussions with Putin or dismantles traditional alliances in a way that causes shock and dismay, he does so within the mandate granted to him by American voters.
The shocking election result has enabled shocking presidential action.
Zdenek Drabek