A journey through Trump’s America, in which the author meets voters who support the American president, as well as figures from both the Republican and Democratic parties, unionists, activists and journalists, and tries to analyze what is happening in the United States and, at the same time, how France and other countries are reflected in America’s mirror.
The Right is becoming more radicalized, and its extremist ideas are being exported and spreading everywhere. The class and cultural divide between those at the top and those at the bottom is widening and, combined with deindustrialization—which leads to unemployment and the decline of cities—breeds resentment and anger. We are witnessing a resurgence of religious feeling, the rise of nationalist ideas, the shift of the working classes to the right, and the takeover of the media by powerful interests that are also aligning themselves with the radical Right.
By observing what is happening in the United States, the author helps us better understand the causes of the crisis of democracy around the world.
And while the Right is reshaping itself and growing stronger by taking increasingly extreme paths, the Left is trying to regroup and stand against it—at times uncertainly, at times by seeking other, more effective methods. Examples include the left wing of the Democratic Party, the resurgence of the labor movement and the mobilization of young people, all of which offer hopeful signs.
Through a compelling and vivid narrative, Cole Stangler holds up a mirror to us—one that may well reflect our future.
