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By Joshua Klein
Donald Trump is a menacing “villain” who would empower violent paramilitary groups and undermine American democracy if he returned to the White House, according to a recent piece in The New Yorker, which describes the former president as a “distinctively vile” and “singularly dangerous” political figure whose opponents “haven’t grasped the scale of [his] villainy.”
In an article published Monday, titled “How Alarmed Should We Be If Trump Wins Again?” and authored by essayist Adam Gopnik, the magazine warns that Trump represents an unprecedented threat to democratic institutions.
The essay argues that the right has turned politics into “cultural theatre,” with conservatives rallying behind Trump in response to feeling powerless in the face of liberal cultural dominance. It also asserts that Trump supporters, frustrated by their inability to reverse progressive social changes, have embraced the former president as a vehicle for revenge.
The author goes further, likening Trump to infamous mobster John Gotti, accusing him of evading accountability by using a mix of humor and manipulation.
“Trump has mastered the gangster’s technique of accusing others of crimes he has committed,” he writes.
Citing Trump’s “peacefully and patriotically” line during the January 6 riots, Gopnik argues that Trump manipulates public sentiment while avoiding direct responsibility for violence.
“Trump’s ability to be both joking and severe at the same time is what gives him his power and his immunity,” he writes. “This power extends even to something as unprecedented as the assault on the U.S. Capitol [where] Trump demanded violence….”
The article also draws parallels between “Trumpism” and right-wing populist movements in the U.K., France, and Italy, all of which the author claims are fueled by an “obsessive fear of immigration.” He writes:
Fear of the other still seems to be the primary mover of collective emotion. Even when it is utterly self-destructive—as in Britain, where the xenophobia of Brexit cut the U.K. off from traditional allies while increasing immigration from the Global South—the apprehension that ‘we’ are being flooded by frightening foreigners works its malign magic.
The essay ultimately warns that a second Trump term could lead to dangerous consequences:
Having lost the popular vote, as he surely will, [Trump] will not speak up to reconcile “all Americans.” He will insist that he won the popular vote, and by a landslide. He will pardon and then celebrate the January 6th insurrectionists, and thereby guarantee the existence of a paramilitary organization that’s capable of committing violence on his behalf without fear of consequences. He will, with an obedient Attorney General, begin prosecuting his political opponents…. Trump will certainly abandon Ukraine to Vladimir Putin and realign this country with dictatorships and against NATO and the democratic alliance of Europe.
The author also warns against Trump’s control over media, particularly through intimidation tactics, speculating that Trump could pressure large networks into compliance.
“When he begins to pressure CNN and ABC, and they, with all the vulnerabilities of large corporations, bend to his will, telling themselves that his is now the will of the people, what will we do to fend off the slow degradation of open debate?” he asks.
Furthermore, the article portrays Trump’s motivations as purely vengeful, comparing them to fascist-era despotic leaders who sought power through destruction rather than ideology:
Above all, the spirit of vengeful reprisal is the totality of his beliefs—very much like the fascists of the twentieth century in being a man and a movement without any positive doctrine except revenge against his imagined enemies. And against this: What? Who? The spirit of resistance may prove too frail, and too exhausted, to rise again to the contest. Who can have confidence that a democracy could endure such a figure in absolute control and survive?
The essay goes on to describe Trump as a “distinctively vile human being” and a “spectacularly malignant” actor on the political stage. To illustrate this, Gopnik draws comparisons between Trump and classic villains from fables and fiction, noting that the former president’s actions are driven by personal grievance rather than a larger cause.
“Trump is a villain,” the author proclaims. “He would be a cartoon villain, if only this were a cartoon.”
He concludes that despite efforts to understand or justify Trump’s rise, the “sinister truth” consistently surfaces.
“He will tell another lie so preposterous, or malign another shared decency so absolutely, or threaten violence so plausibly, or just engage in behavior so unhinged and hate-filled that you’ll recoil and rebound to your original terror at his return to power,” he writes.
As Breitbart News previously reported, instead of toning down the inflammatory language in the aftermath of a second assassination attempt on Trump’s life earlier this month, Democrats and establishment media have increased their divisive remarks.
Trump himself cast blame on the Biden-Harris administration for their “rhetoric” being behind the threats to his life.
Last month, a Salon piece compared Trump’s immigration plans and rhetoric to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s, warning that the former president “plans to turn America into a type of Fourth Reich,” targeting immigrants and minorities with “white supremacy” and “racism.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
