There is something tragicomic about seeing Republicans cluster around Donald Trump, as across the globe in Burma, crowds of protesters take to the streets to demand democracy.
On the one hand, Americans dream of a dynasty that resembles the monarchy their ancestors got rid of, on the other, Burmese are desperate to free themselves from the decades-long ruling junta and establish a democracy. .
The Burmese soldiers have used Donald Trump’s arguments to justify their coup. According to them, a dozen false voters would have voted in the Burmese elections. Hence the legitimacy of their cancellation.
In reality, the military is attempting a coup d’etat because the newly elected officials were going to pass an anti-corruption law. The deep corruption which reigns in the Burmese army and which very probably involves its most senior leaders risked being exposed.
Almost the entire Burmese population is against the military. Even the monks, who usually remain neutral, took sides against the military and for democracy.
The Burmese probably would not have taken to the streets in such large numbers if Trump had remained in power, much less if he himself had succeeded in his coup on the pretext of imaginary electoral fraud.
Biden success stories
If Trump had remained in power, relations between Canada and the United States would remain bad, the fight against climate change would drag on, the White House would not have published its report on the assassin prince of Saudi Arabia and international organizations would continue to be colonized by China.
In barely a month in office, Biden managed to make significant strides in international relations.
Domestically, the aggressive COVID-19 vaccination campaign contrasts with the procrastination of Trump and his team, who had not worked on any concrete game plan.
Yet Republicans overwhelmingly continue to support Trump. The greed and cowardice of Republican leaders are not enough to explain Trump’s popularity.
Return of beliefs
Trumpism is defined almost as a disease. A disease that strikes in particular the simple minds who tend to believe anything and everything. This is why the evangelists, who make up the 28% of voters, overwhelmingly support Trump.
However, it would be wrong to think that the Trumpists are the only ones to fall into ridiculous beliefs. The woke movement, although more subtle in its beliefs than the nonsense propagated by QAnon, is itself based on the rejection of advances in social science. This movement is gaining importance in the Democratic ranks.
So, in Burma, people aspire to democracy and modernity, while in the United States, a good part of the population calls for dictatorship and a return to the Middle Ages.