President Trump polarizes – some people get tetchy when you highlight Trump’s achievements and some are indignant if you criticize him. In many Western European countries, the general consensus is that Trump should be viewed in a negative light. The author of this book, the German journalist Ansgar Graw, who spent many years as a correspondent in the United States, is among those who take a critical view of Trump. However, Graw’s recently published book Die Ära Trump (English: The Trump Era) stands out for its nuanced approach and avoids falling into the trap of painting a simplistic black-and-white picture of Donald Trump.
Point by point, Graw examines the accusations leveled against Trump and decides whether they can be substantiated or not. Remaining impartial, Graw neither defends nor prosecutes, but rather seeks to ensure that Trump gets a fair hearing in the face of relentless criticism. Graw’s guiding principle: “It's time to be fair with Donald Trump and deliver impartial verdicts. To be fair to someone who can, at best, be described as self-righteous.”
Graw finds no evidence to support claims that Trump is an anti-Semite or homophobe as he does for allegations that Trump is a racist believer in the doctrine of white supremacy. And despite being labeled a misogynist by his opponents, Trump’s track record consistently demonstrates his willingness to appoint women to prominent roles within his companies and in the White House. Furthermore, Trump is not fundamentally against migration; rather, in the dispute between Elon Musk and the right-wing of the Republican party, Trump sided with Musk’s position in favor of qualified immigration and against illegal migration.
Graw highlights a number of surprising statements made by Trump, including his vocal opposition to the concept of “American exceptionalism.” Trump has even described the ideology of American exceptionalism as dangerous. On this subject, Trump has demonstrated a level of empathy that may have come as a surprise to many, for instance when, in 2015, he challenged the notion of American exceptionalism with the argument: “I don’t like the term, I never liked it … If you’re German, or you’re from Japan, or you’re from China, you don’t want to have people saying that. I never liked the expression”.
Conversely, Graw rightly takes issue with Trump’s frequent expressions of sympathy toward dictators and autocrats – and the lack of similarly positive statements about democratically elected leaders. Despite this, Graw is an optimist and believes that the institutions and constitution of the United States will be strong enough to survive Trump’s efforts to undermine the rule of law and democracy.
According to Graw, the role played by Trump in the storming of the Capitol and his pardons for the 1,600 people involved do raise justified doubts about his democratic credentials and his respect for the rule of law. However, even in this respect, some of the criticism has been exaggerated, such as the accusation that Trump threatened a bloodbath if he lost the election. Although it is clear that this particular Trump statement has been taken out of context and distorted, it is still constantly repeated by his opponents to this day. Graw cites further examples of Trump’s statements being intentionally misrepresented by his opponents.
So, in the eyes of the author, what can Trump justifiably be criticized for? Well, Graw highlights several examples of Trump and his family linking their business interests to political office in an ethically questionable manner. Graw also identifies both positive and negative aspects of Trump’s economic policy. On the positive side, Graw commends the tax cuts and deregulation implemented during Trump’s first term and proposed for his second term. However, Graw criticizes Trump’s protectionist stance on higher tariffs, which have done long-term damage to every country that has ever adopted this approach. Additionally, Graw points out the problems associated with the United States’ excessive national debt – although, on this score, Trump is no different from his predecessor Barack Obama or his successor Joe Biden. One can only hope that Elon Musk will succeed in his mission to streamline the bloated state apparatus.
In Graw’s analysis, it remains to be seen what will dominate Trump’s economic policy in his second term of office: “Will he dare to adopt more market-oriented approaches or retreat behind protectionist barriers?” He will probably do both. The author’s sympathies lie more with Javier Milei than with Trump and he emphasizes that while they may be similar in style, their economic policies are very different: “Trump pursues protectionist and expansionist strategies, while Milei champions radical market freedom and limited state intervention.” Graw effectively debunks the myth of “pure capitalism” in the United States, a misconception held by many Europeans, and is quite right when he asserts: “America does not have too much capitalism, it has too little capitalism.”
From Graw’s perspective, Musk’s influence has the potential to be largely positive. However, the decisive question is: how long will the “honeymoon phase” of their relationship last? It is no secret that Trump hates sharing the spotlight with anyone else. “You shall have no other gods beside me” is evidently his motto. Given their formidable personalities, will there be a showdown between Trump and Musk at some point? If there is, Graw believes that Trump will ultimately hold the upper hand in any such conflict.
In the best-case scenario, I would add, Trump understands that it is not only Musk who needs him, but that he needs Musk too. Musk’s company, SpaceX, stands to benefit from the vital de-bureaucratization and deregulation of the space industry. Simultaneously, Trump also stands to reap the rewards of America taking a massive step forward on the road to Mars in the next four years. It has the makings of a win-win situation for both. But Trump doesn’t always think rationally and he can be unpredictable at times. What is more, Musk is never going to see himself as anyone’s underling, not even Trump’s. It is also safe to assume that Trump will never subordinate himself to Musk either. In fact, the Democrats have already recognized this dynamic and have been attempting to drive a strategic wedge between the two by stoking Trump’s jealousy of Musk.
Graw also rightly recognizes the positive impact of Trump’s efforts to curb the excesses of “woke culture” and “gender ideology.” A key factor in Trump’s success is the widespread discontent among Americans toward the restrictions and taboos enforced by left-wing “moral guardians.” Trump has always positioned himself as a champion of free speech, although – as Graw also acknowledges – he often uses free speech to propagate falsehoods. While this is a well-known fact, his supporters remain unfazed, regarding him as authentic and as an advocate of common sense. According to the author, Trump has “no convictions, no beliefs, and no ideology, at most a few timeworn principles that he labels a commonsense attitude.”
Overall, this is an impressive, timely, and topical book, which covers all the events up to the inauguration speech. It would be helpful if it could be translated into other languages.
