The success of Donald Trump on Wednesday, November 6, sounds like a warning for Western democracies. Except for Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Viktor Orban, who dreamed of it, the return of Donald Trump to the White House was the nightmare of most leaders of Western democracies. It came true.
This comeback illustrates the questioning of our democratic model by a growing share of voters who are giving in to the attraction of strong and populist leaders. Even when they challenged the common rule, that of the election, as Donald Trump did during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In this result there are many specificities linked to political life American, but we must also note obvious common points with the evolution of our societies on this side of the Atlantic.
There is an increasingly deep double divide, territorial first, between large cities on one side and rural areas and small and medium-sized towns on the other; sociological divide then, between the elites, intellectuals, cultural, and graduates on one side, and the working classes and without diplomas on the other who have turned their backs on the left. The disaster of Kamala Harris illustrates the powerlessness of progressives to heal these fractures and therefore to combat populism. Rather than responding to the social and identity expectations of the working classes who feel abandoned by the top, this left cuts society into slices and adopts a communitarian approach. She sometimes adds a hint of condescension, for example by treating the adversary as “fascist”as Kamala Harris did. Basically, the Democratic candidate, a woman from the West Coast, coming from privileged California, repeated, eight years later, the errors of Hillary Clinton, a woman from the East Coast embodying the New York elites. Up to featuring the support of show biz stars to the end, from Taylor Swift to Lady Gaga.
On the other hand, inflation and immigration made Donald Trump's victory. The populist tribune carried a great unifying story, the “Make America Great Again”which allowed it to progress in all categories, including Latino and African-American minorities who are also concerned about security and purchasing power. From Brexit to Giorgia Meloni's victory in Italy, these same recipes also make the far right successful almost everywhere in Europe.
The victory of Donald Trump is therefore godsend for Marine Le Pen, to mock the polls or the media once again incapable of measuring the extent of this populist wave. But unlike in 2016, she did not support him. No doubt because style-wise, there is more Trumpism in the verbal violence of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, his insults towards journalists, his desire to “conflict everything”. For months, Donald Trump has continued to become radicalized. His triumph is also a disavowal of the strategy of “demonization” by Marine Le Pen.
