Han van der Maas | US in pre-traumatic election stress
In the Netherlands, the US elections are talk of the town, at least in his academic environment. But in the US state of New Mexico, the silence is deafening, observes our columnist Han van der Maas, on a working visit to the US.
That my working visit to the US coincided with the US elections I only realised after I had booked. In a week’s time, and a few days later we will know the outcome. After that, I may be fleeing a country where serious unrest has broken out or a country sliding towards a Russian-style dictatorship.
In the Netherlands, the US elections are the talk of the day, at least in my academic environment. But here, in New Mexico, the silence is deafening. After a week, I count four Harris and one Trump sign along the road. When I inquire about the election over coffee, a painful silence falls. We were talking just as pleasantly about Halloween, or the weather, or science: Don’t mention Trump. And when I ask why, I always get the same answer: Post-traumatic stress disorder. Academics are traumatised, not even so much by Trump himself, but because 50 per cent of the population supports him. Academics here talk about the opt out option. If Trump wins they will turn everything off; no more news and newspapers, no more social media and that out of self-protection.
I also talk to people who lie awake over the choice of voting for Harris or not at all. And that while in this non-swing state, the vote doesn’t matter. But I do understand. If we place the American options in the Dutch spectrum, it is an election between Dilan Yeşilgöz and Thierry Baudet, a choice between a right-wing politician and an idiot.
Xenophobia
The main question, of course, remains why fifty percent of Americans support Trump. A major reason is the massive inflation. Of course, this was not limited to the US and has fallen sharply in the last year, but that kind of consideration is too high for many Americans. Those believe in the reset button, disruption, back to square one and all will be well. Many left-wing Americans also think this way. They see no continuous path to a solution to the stalled medical system, the excesses of the electoral system itself, the rich-poor dichotomy and climate problems. The second reason is immigration. The left has never had an answer to populism’s formula for success: xenophobia. That formula is so successful that a large proportion of non-white Americans will vote for Trump.
Another reason that is gaining traction in elections is the yearning for the traditional role for men. Around the world, we see an increasing difference in the political preferences of men and women. The gender gap is huge in the US. Trump gets support from Hulk Hogan, Dr Phil and Elon Musk, Harris from Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé. Presumably Harris will win every state if only women are allowed to vote. This is important because we don’t quite understand why fifty percent of Americans, regardless of their opinions, vote for a narcissistic, bawdy, criminal and stupid elderly jerk.
Why do they see in Trump a strong leader? It’s my field, but I can only look at it speechlessly. But it must have something to do with the “man adrift” in increasingly emancipated society. I also constantly marvel at the undisguised sexism in the Dutch daily De Telegraaf when our Amsterdam mayor is discussed. We’ll just see it as a transitional phase, with ups and downs. But if Trump wins, well, nobody wants to think that through. Neither do I. That’s asking for pre-traumatic stress disorder.
