The point about democracy is that sometimes the candidate and the party you backed are going to win, and sometimes they’re going to lose. And the beginning of wisdom about democracy is that victory for your choice will not mean the start of a golden age and defeat won’t be the end of the world.
That’s something that a lot of Americans – and Israelis – have forgotten about in recent years. So great has been the hatred for both President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the part of their political opponents that many of them have resorted to the sort of existential arguments that are incompatible with a functioning democracy.
Both men have their flaws, and their actions and positions on issues can, of course, be debated. Neither, however, is seeking to establish a dictatorship. On the contrary, it is their opponents who have spent much of the past few years claiming to protect and defend democracy while employing lawfare tactics seeking to take out their main foe in a decidedly undemocratic way.
In Trump’s case, his first term was not so much opposed as it was “resisted” by Democrats, who never reconciled themselves with the results of the 2016 election. That was manifested by mass demonstrations protesting his taking office in January 2017. It was also hindered by the way that his political opponents, as well as much of the nation’s security establishment and mainstream media, enabled a hoax/conspiracy theory about him colluding with the Russians to steal the 2016 election. That bad behavior was matched by the bad grace with which Trump and many of his supporters refused to accept the results in 2020 – something that culminated in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
But as Trump is sworn in for his second non-consecutive term, all that seems to be behind us. There is no sign of a “resistance” movement to Trump 2.0, and some of the Silicon Valley oligarchs who helped promote the Russia hoax and did their best to ensure Trump’s defeat in 2020 by fair or foul means have made their peace with him. This isn’t by any means the start of a second “era of good feelings”; still, the blithe talk about a coming “civil war” between red and blue America that we heard so much about last year has proved to be just a cynical ploy to defeat Trump and to divide a nation that wishes to be united. The fact that so many in politics and the press who spoke of a Trump victory as the end of democracy seem to have quietly abandoned that stance shows how cynical those predictions were. If Democrats behave like a loyal opposition rather than a resistance, that will be a cue for Republicans to alter some of their thinking as well.
Regardless of who you supported last November, the appropriate stance for everyone at the start of an administration is to be willing to support the new president whenever possible and to oppose them when necessary.
That is a principle that seems to have been forgotten by a lot of people. The hype about what a second Trump presidency will mean has been so great that expectations on both sides of the political aisle are, to put it mildly, excessive. Trump’s opponents have been foolishly predicting the start of an era of fascism, and his supporters have been acting like his victory is the beginning of the messianic era. Both sides need to be ready to acknowledge that in the coming four years, there may well be plenty to support and oppose.
Elections have consequences
That is not to say that the stakes in 2024 weren’t high. As former President Barack Obama used to say when he was in power, “elections have consequences.” The list of executive orders that Trump is signing on his first day back in the White House makes that clear.
Trump will reverse the orders signed by his predecessor that imposed the woke catechism of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) throughout the federal government. Though Biden never seemed able to understand the implications of his administration’s embrace of radical leftist theories of government, the imposition of “anti-racist” measures enabled racial discrimination. The legitimization of leftist ideas that sought to reimagine and tear down American history and the foundation of Western civilization is a far more deadly threat to freedom than anything Trump might ever say or do.
It’s equally true that intersectional beliefs and the acceptance of critical race theory teachings also played a role in the surge of antisemitism that swept across the United States in the wake of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
What happened in the last election was in no small measure the result of a critical mass of citizens rejecting the troubling trends in society and government pushed by the left that Biden had facilitated. As is so often the case in the history of American politics, when one party goes too far, it is made to pay for it at the ballot box, and the other side is given a turn in power. Trump’s rise, fall and his subsequent impressive comeback is a function of how the people felt not just about him but about his opponents and their growing contempt for working-class voters and traditional American values. A successful Trump presidency could realign American politics for the foreseeable future in a way that we haven’t seen for a century, which was the last time a plurality of voters identified as Republicans.
If, on the other hand, his efforts also go too far or displease most people, they will make that clear at the next election and perhaps return the Democrats to power. And that is how the American constitutional republic is supposed to work.
Trump is likely to do much to please those who voted for him and dismay those who didn’t. But if history is any guide, there will still be moments when that will be reversed.
Already disappointed?
Many supporters of Israel, who rightly lauded Trump as the most pro-Israel president America has ever had, were reminded of this even before he took office. Trump’s pressure on the Israeli government to enable a ceasefire/hostage release deal that will likely strengthen and enable Hamas to return to power in Gaza disappointed some of those who spent the last four years hoping for his return to the White House. Though he’s likely to please pro-Israel voters more than anger them, this probably won’t be the last time he will do that. As much as he is far more sympathetic to Israel than a Democratic Party now split between those who hate the Jewish state and those who still support it, his priorities aren’t always going to be perfectly aligned with those that will protect Israel’s security.
Similarly, Democratic voters should put aside the demonization of Trump that has become integral to their party’s rhetoric. They need to be ready to accept that some of his policies on issues like trade and immigration will help struggling Americans – something that a party that used to claim to be their protectors should favor. In particular, Jewish Democrats should be willing to acknowledge that Trump and the GOP may be far more interested in defending them and their children against the rising tide of global antisemitism than a Democratic Party that sought to appease its intersectional left-wing. If he disappoints on this issue, Jewish Republicans will have to reassess their support.
Of course, the radical bifurcation of American democracy – aided by the way that politics now plays the role that religion used to play in many people’s lives – isn’t going away so quickly. The debate about Trump’s actions will almost always be split along party and ideological lines.
Knee-jerk reactions
The point about a new presidency is that we should be willing to try to judge actions on their virtues and not merely engage in knee-jerk support or opposition.
Trump 2.0 might turn out to be all his fans desire and a nightmare for those on the other side. But faith in democracy means for his supporters to be willing to acknowledge the possibility that he might be wrong at times and for his detractors to do the same about him being right. In these hyper-partisan times, few may be willing to leave their political silos and say as much. But win or lose, Americans will have a chance to render their verdict on his administration at the ballot box in two years and then choose a successor two years after that.
We should all wish Trump success but also lower our expectations, both good and bad, about what will unfold during the next four years. Turning down the temperature on our rhetoric about him and what he does will go a long way toward making America a better and saner country.
