By Orobosa Agbonkpolo
History is replete with makeovers and takeovers of organizations, yet what has been witnessed pales in comparison to the Trump takeover of the Republican Party.
The collusion of religion with sinister forces has been seen before—such as the Catholic Church’s alignment with Hitler—as well as in the U.S. evangelicals’ enablement of Trump.
This illustrates, ever more poignantly, the contradictions, paradoxes, conundrums, and perplexities in all human endeavors, but especially in the U.S., which touts an image it prefers the world to perceive or believe. Sadly, what America projects to the world could not be further from what it truly is, as evidenced by recent macabre events.
It is unsettling how a nation that once jettisoned the authoritarianism of the English monarchy in the name of freedom has now moved, albeit unapologetically, to court the authoritarian proclivities of Trump—unfazed by the similarities between what it fled and what it could become.
Hitler, openly admired by Trump, admired the all-encompassing powers of the Sultan, the Padishah (Emperor) ruling house of the Ottoman Empire, and sought to emulate such authority in Germany.
Putin, also openly admired by Trump, lamented the weakened USSR after its disintegration and successfully sought to consolidate power to recreate its might.
Xi Jinping, yet another figure admired by Trump, longed for the sweeping powers of Mao Zedong and worked to attain such status, ultimately becoming president-for-life in China.
Serious historians have expressed public concerns about the similarities between Trump and Hitler.
But here lies the anatomy of Hitler’s consolidation of power in Germany—a forewarning of what may await the U.S.:
Hitler and his Nazi Party courted and gained the approval of the DNVP and the Catholic Center Party, with Jews at the center of his rhetoric. For Trump, it is non-white immigrants. After achieving a majority in the ensuing election, Hitler introduced the Enabling Act in 1933, granting him the power to compel the Reichstag (Germany’s Congress) to approve his rule by decree.
Next, the acquiescent Reichstag passed the Fire Decree, suspending civil liberties for German citizens.
In quick succession, Hitler banned political parties (except the Nazi Party) and abolished trade unions. Judges were appointed only after swearing loyalty to Hitler. State and county governments were reorganized, with Nazi Party loyalists placed in charge of each area of Germany.
If one assumes Trump’s takeover of the GOP is mere happenstance or meteoric, think again.
The first salvo of disaffection among a growing portion of the American populace came in 1994 with Newt Gingrich’s Contract with America. It heralded a combative approach to politics, where hateful language and hyper-partisanship became commonplace.
Lacking a towering figure, its impact on grassroots Republicans was limited.
Then came the virus of resentment, the Tea Party, which in 2009 staged mass protests against the Obama administration’s attempts to cushion the damages of the housing market crisis—a crisis permitted by the reckless deregulation of the Bush administration, a centerpiece of the GOP agenda.
These protests called for tax relief for the wealthy, deregulation, and cutting benefits for those labeled as “freeloaders.” The more extreme the rhetoric, the more electoral victories the GOP enjoyed. Yet even the star power of Sarah Palin could not push the Tea Party beyond the fringes of the GOP.
However, the groundwork had been laid for a towering figure to capitalize on the unaddressed concerns of a significant, restless segment of the populace—especially rural Americans. The growing unease among a disconsolate majority, anxious about the loss of its longstanding numerical advantage, awaited validation by an unrestrained, bombastic champion.
The deafening rumblings of the religious right and most conservatives, aggrieved by the emboldened activism for expanded LGBTQ+ rights and the perceived affront of “transgenderism,” created a fertile opportunity. There could not have been a more opportune moment for the right figure to ride this wave of discontent into the White House.
America—once surefooted but now perceived as wobbling in a cultural wilderness and besieged by economic stagnation—was ripe for the taking. A significant segment, represented by the GOP, began to clamor for reclaiming a lost America.
Perceived culprits, such as illegal immigrants, became the primary focus of ire on the right.
No wonder, then, the burgeoning appeal of MAGA and its foremost protagonist, Donald Trump.
The barrage of election denialism, the sponsorship of insurrection, impeachments, felony convictions, and intransigence only heightened Trump’s appeal to his base through the GOP primaries and the general election. Along the way, the severely marred SCOTUS, ever an activist bench, gifted Trump with an imperial status through sweeping immunity for the presidency.
With the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Executive branch, and total control of the GOP, America has come full circle—crowning a would-be Emperor with sweeping powers. A once-distant, unthinkable possibility in the American psyche has become reality.
In essence, there is no longer a distinction between what Putin is to Russia, Xi Jinping is to China, Kim Jong Un is to North Korea, and what Donald Trump is to the U.S. A long-sought fantasy has become a reality for Trump.
It is the proverbial full circle—from rejecting the sweeping powers of the British monarchy as a basis for independence to embracing and coronating a man who fantasizes about such monarchical powers.
Absent any guardrails, and with vital government positions awarded to loyalists ever willing to acquiesce to his whims, only the Emperor himself can temper his prodigious proclivity for impulsivity, chaos, and unorthodoxy.
Keep antacids close by to ease the inevitable acid burn, for the U.S. and the world now embark on a voyage through certain tempests.
As the saying goes: Behold the Emperor!
Orobosa Agbonkpolo
12/4/2024
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