Should we still give so much importance to reporting on Donald Trump?
I've been asking myself this question since the day he walked down the escalator to announce his candidacy for the 2016 election.
Trump exploited the media better than anyone and they used his presence to boost their ratings. After helping create the monster, we now need to work on fixing this error.
After Joe Biden's victory in 2020, many of us thought that a former president under siege in the courts would be sidelined for the 2024 election cycle.
Not Hitler, but not much better
Despite everything, Trump is more dangerous than ever. That's why I'm convinced we need to keep talking about it, because there are too many risks not to do so.
If Trump is not Hitler, it is still hard to deny that he borrows some strategies and statements from the game plan of the fascist regimes of the 1930s. Since his defeat in 2020, the 45th president has never been more violent in his comments.
When he says that thieves should be shot in the street or that he will abuse state services in revenge, that is not reassuring for democracy and respect for the Charter of Rights.
Force reflection on the powers of the executive branch
The historian in me still sees a benefit in Trump's presence: exposing the flaws in the American Constitution.
If it has to be ruled out once and for all, two huge projects need to be undertaken. First, listen to those who follow him and try to understand their frustration. We cannot hope to get closer to everyone, but we must definitely show that we are not ignoring them.
Second, we must address the ambiguity about the limits of executive power. The Founding Fathers did not expect a man with 91 points to win. They believed that the Electoral College and impeachment would be enough to remove such an unworthy candidate from office. Trump compares himself to no other president.
In this context, I am curious to see what the Supreme Court will say about presidential immunity. If the Constitution clearly states the immunity of elected members of Congress, nothing is said about the President. The Supreme Court's opinion will of course have a major impact on the Trump trials, but more importantly, it will have an impact on the future of the presidency.
American democracy has many flaws (the main one being the dominance of money power) and both political parties too often get carried away by its extremes.
We hope for improvement, but in an emergency we should at least come together to rule out the most serious symptom of the diseases that are gnawing at the system.