Richardson points out how Trump represents the logical end point of 45 years of Republican rhetoric about government being the problem in American life. There was an argument you could make about regulation in 1980 being too high and there is always room to tweak regulations after they've played out in the real world.
But this rhetoric wasn't about governance, it was about winning elections. It relied on a myth of American rugged individualism symbolized by the cowboy - Reagan's leitmotif as president. The cowboy - the rugged loner - could dispense justice easily and brutally without the niceties of law. If you want an antidote to this idea, I recommend Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven.
As Richardson notes, Trump's form of rugged individualism isolates America itself. It's one thing to lie to voters in Mississippi that the government does nothing for them, when Mississippi in fact gets a ton of federal money. It's one thing to use that lie to funnel wealth upwards.
It's another to leave the country - the country that created an international system that benefitted itself and the world - fundamentally alone on the international stage. Or worse than alone, we cuddle up to Putin and Bukele while insulting Canada and Japan.
Great work everybody.
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