Trump and other authoritarians promise a return to the glorious past. Trump is able to form a coalition of supporters from the religious, who lament the secularization of the country, to the racists and xenophobes, who fear diversity, to all those Americans who have been left behind by free trade, high tech, and the meritocracy. Trump (and all authoritarians) divide the country by emphasizing differences, attacking the press, and undermining facts and science. This approach has had disastrous even deadly consequences during the pandemic.
Where are we headed? Perhaps the pandemic will bring us together, progressive democrats will triumph in the coming elections and Biden will reunite the country. Or, we could fall prey to "the seductive lure of authoritarianism."
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