How to make sure Trump or anyone like him never, ever returns to power

One silver lining of the pandemic now unfolding around the world is that it could spell an end to the age of right-wing populism. With his handling of the coronavirus crisis, Donald Trump has single-handedly shown the dangers of entrusting the levers of state to narcissistic right-wing showmen.

According to polling numbers, he is not only on course to lose the elections, but may also flip the Senate in favour of the Democratic Party.

Democrats in Washington are already whispering about setting up an agenda for a post-Trump era. Even Republicans, sickened by Trump’s missteps – such as recommending the injection of disinfectant to cure Covid-19 – are looking ahead.

Social-distancing measures have thus far prevented the equivalent of a Yalta summit to plan out steps for the post-populist order, but in phone conversations and Zoom sessions, some key players have begun making plans. Wish lists include tightening campaign-finance rules, giving teeth to oversight rules that Trump has flouted, reforming immigration, and tightening laws requiring candidates to disclose their financial records.

“The focus of the discussions is on inequality, corruption, oligarchy and understanding authoritarianism,” says one Washington insider. “We’re doing some work understanding corruption on a global and national level as a threat.”

Daron Acemoglu, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently sketched out a series of possible political and economic reforms to address the structural defects in US politics and its economy that contributed to the rise of Trump, laying out a policy agenda to address rising inequality and political marginalisation.

In order to make such grand renovations, however, some major housekeeping matters must first be addressed.

Too many Republicans went along with the Trump agenda out of opportunistic and careerist aims. Lawmakers could raise the price for those who would consider enabling the next version of Trump by subpoenaing members of his inner circle. They could thus be compelled under oath to describe what roles they played in the various scandals that erupted during his presidency: from the dealings with Russia, to the handling of the hurricane in Puerto Rico, the locking up of migrant children in cages, and the seizure of aid destined for Democratic states during the coronavirus crisis.

Criminal behaviour could be prosecuted, malpractice subject to civil litigation, and unethical deeds publicly exposed.

Trump didn’t come out of nowhere. In addition to the Republican Party, a constellation of media outlets, think tanks and financiers enabled his rise. In order to inoculate politics from populism, all of them should be publicly named and compelled to speak before Congress about their actions.

Of course, freedom of expression must not be breached or punished, but news outlets that endangered the public by broadcasting false news, such as the Fox News network’s downplaying of the coronavirus threat even as its own employees stocked up on masks, could be in violation of federal regulations. Secretive collaboration between media outlets and Trump insiders should be exposed.

In addition, the charitable tax-exempt status of the think tanks, foundations and religious institutions peddling Trump’s line and abetting his rise should be carefully reviewed.

Courts packed with right-wing judges will resist. Congressional impeachment of the judges, or the threat of it, could act as a check on any overreach.

In 2009, President Obama, hoping to build a consensus, opted to let bygones be bygones and declined to target the excesses and abuses of his predecessor, including the widespread use of torture by the CIA. In retrospect, some say, that was a disastrous strategic misstep; Republicans gave him nothing, and instead became the American equivalent of a far-right European party.

“It was a huge mistake by the Obama administration not to seek accountability,” says the Washington insider. “I want the next president to hold people accountable.”

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, is an old-school centrist who may be tempted to follow in Obama’s footsteps and give Republicans a pass for enabling Trump. That would be a costly mistake. Deflating, deterring and dismantling the cult of Trump will be vital for the next president. The insider notes that if Trump leaves office in January, he won’t “vanish in a puff of smoke”, but will continue to summon his supporters – including sycophants in Congress – to sabotage any reforms.

“He’ll still be on Twitter,” he says. “He’ll still be calling in on Fox. He’ll still have his cult.”

Even if Trump again defies the polls and wins another four years, it will be worthwhile for his opponents to devise strategies to make sure someone like him never comes into power again, and then summon up the courage to ram through those provisions the next time there is an opportunity.

Defanging the most toxic elements of the Trumpian right would not only benefit the United States but could reverberate around the world. Humiliating exposure and punishing scrutiny of the misdeeds of Trump and his fellow travellers worldwide could serve as a deterrent against anyone who would buttress a charlatan’s rise to power.