There are many ironies in Donald Trump's election victory.
Those who truly believe he will end democracy, or those who believe that it was literally Hitler who contributed most to his victory through an all-out ideological commitment to open borders. They would rather see American democracy destroyed than simply enforce existing immigration laws.
And what is most horrified by Trump's victory is the superstructure of America's old Christian morality, the most ardent of all the guardrails that would have blocked the path to the Oval Office for someone like Trump. These are the people who destroyed it.
Donald Trump is truly a post-Christian American president.
I focused on the ongoing decline of Christianity in America. three phases or worlds: A positive world that was in decline but was still viewed positively by society (1964-1994). In the neutral world (1994-2014), it was no longer viewed positively, but not yet negatively. and a negative world (2014-present) where, for the first time in America's 400-year history, official elite culture views Christianity negatively, or at least skeptically. And that moral system was rejected.
When I talk about this about American Christianity, people tend to think about what it means for American Christians. But it has profound implications for American society as a whole.
Donald Trump is just a plausible president in a world of negativity.
Trump had been talking about running for president since at least 1988, but never did. The Reform Party's fake bid in 2012 does not count. He knew that America would not elect someone like him, no matter his reputation. In a country where Sen. Gary Hart had to withdraw from the presidential race over allegations of extramarital affairs, Trump's turbulent personal life at the time would have disqualified him.
Another example of why Trump didn't win is that he owned a gambling casino. In the 1980s, if you wanted to gamble, you had two options. You can go to your local mob bookie, or you can go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City and bet at a casino that is probably controlled by the mob. Gambling was publicly recognized as a shady business and deeply tied to the mafia. This was a major plot element in the movie “The Godfather”. Trump himself may not have been involved with the mob, but the idea of America electing a casino owner was unthinkable.
Today, gambling is legal, widespread, and socially sanctioned. Major sports leagues are actually partners in the gambling industry. Clean American types like Peyton Manning and Eli Manning have apparently registered as gambling sellers without damaging their brand. President Trump's casino ownership is not a big deal today.
Trump also benefited from the eventual collapse of the WASP norm in America. His flamboyant consumption style, boastfulness, and love of celebrity are an affront to WASP values. But in a country that celebrates music such as Cardi B's “WAP,” drug use is now mostly legal and approved, tattoos are extremely common, and becoming a social media star is becoming more and more popular among young people. It is one of my biggest career ambitions. The consumption of expensive products and experiences is now a core element of the lifestyle of America's elites, but how can President Trump's actions be criticized? Even though we live in a vulgar society and people like it, it's hard to complain that he is vulgar except when it concerns him. Indeed, compared to the rest of the country, President Trump is a retro paragon of orthodoxy: he doesn't drink or do drugs, has a relentless work ethic and wears a suit.
If we were still an America that elected George H.W. Bush, or George W. Bush, Donald Trump would not have won this election. In fact, there's a good chance he never ran in the first place.
But in 2015, he realized that something had changed in this country, creating a path for someone like him to potentially get into the White House. He came down that escalator, and the rest is history.
Donald Trump is an example of what has changed with the advent of negative world in America.
The fallout will be widespread. That's because all the things that used to have to go to the mafia are now legal, and to some level This can be seen from the fact that it has been approved. Perhaps that's one reason why we don't hear much about the American mafia these days. They can't do as much as they used to. If Michael Corleone were real and still alive, he could actually be legal.
The election of Donald Trump as president is two of the first signs of the negative social effects of the post-Christian world of America. They are unlikely to be the last.
this essay first published About Aaron Wren substack.
