Rolling the Dice

By Josef Gregory Mahoney

The apparent and poll-predicted election of Joe Biden to the U.S. presidency has produced other predictable results. Donald Trump steadfastly refuses to concede and begin processes designed to produce a smooth transition of power by January 20， 2021， when his term ends and the new president will be inaugurated. In fact， there is no law that he cooperate with the transition， and he is well within legal rights to contest results in states where he or his surrogates have alleged fraud.

These efforts are unlikely to overturn Bidens win not simply because of actual vote totals， but also because a Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates nearly 80 percent of Americans believe Biden won. Nevertheless， Trump will delay certifi cation of the vote in some places， undermine public confi dence in the system and outcome， further infl ame polarities and tensions nationally， and make it even harder for a new administration to get its footing in a time when the nation is reeling from new novel coronavirus disease （COVID-19） cases exceeding 100，000 per day on average.

Domestic impacts

Trumps politics largely present a retrograde revolution hinging on the psychopathology of transference， as is so frequently the case with populists， and which in Trumps case saw 80s narcissism become for so many a welcome return to an authentic national ego of “one nation， under God” and above all others.

This reduction of politics to a largely imaginary order was never capable of reconciling with the new structural realities facing Americans at home and abroad. The inability to face these changes honestly not only hamstrung real reforms， it left the U.S. vulnerable to an accelerated decline， particularly when it encountered new crises like the pandemic， on top of a multitude of others， none of which could be imagined away with Make America Great Again/Keep America Great slogans.

Trumps biggest policies were unsustainable and self-defeating. His economic policies constructed a house of cards—debt-fueled fiscal policies， unaffordable tax cuts favoring the rich， massive but largely ineffectual bailouts， and promises to rebuild Americas crumbling infrastructure that remain unfulfi lled.

His policies regarding climate change have worsened both domestic and global prospects. His neo-mercantilist trade policies have bludgeoned bilateral deals wherever possible， and where they have failed to win even short-term gains， as in the case of China， have instead blossomed into a selfdefeating trade war with immense costs to U.S. workers， consumers and businesses.