In Trumpism, Bigotry, and the Threat to American Democracy, Larry N. Gerston examines the near-lethal combination of American bigotry and the ability of Donald Trump to take advantage of this scourge to satisfy his own political objective. The result is an individual who won election to the American presidency by adroitly pitting members of American society against one another, while presenting himself as the only person in the position to save America from itself. Having succeeded to the nation's most important political office, Trump proceeded to use the position for his own benefit, irrespective of laws, norms, and, most important, the Constitution. So powerful was Trump that he and his minions came close to overturning the 2020 presidential election with the January 6, 2021 insurrection against the nation's Capitol. While Trump failed in his attempt to remain in office, the threat to the wellbeing of the United States remains real.
Larry N. Gerston is political science professor at San Jose State University,
Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: The Delicacy of Democracy Chapter 1: Democracy's Promise and Performance Chapter 2: Why Democracies Decline Part II: The Impact of Bigotry Chapter 3: Bigotry as a Threat to Democracy Chapter 4: Racism in the United States: A Brief History Chapter 5: Donald Trump and Bigotry Part III: Trumpism: An American Brand of Authoritarianism Chapter 6: Trump, Bigotry, and the 2016 Presidential Election Chapter 7: A Bitter Presidency Chapter 8: Trump, Bigotry, and the 2020 Election Chapter 9: The January Sixth Insurrection: Before, During, and After Chapter 10: Trump on the Wane? Part IV: Trumpism, Bigotry, and the Threat to American Democracy Chapter 11: Understanding the Threat to American Democracy Chapter 12: Saving the American Experiment Bibliography About the Author
By placing Donald Trump's presidential campaigns in the broader context of comparative democracies and American political history, Larry Gerston shows how they fit within larger processes that threaten the stability of democracy at home and abroad. Whatever happens in his trials, and regardless of whether he wins the Republican presidential nomination and is reelected president in 2024, Gerston makes the case that the American political system will be dealing with the consequences of Donald Trump for many years to come. -- Benjamin Highton, University of California, Davis
