Politics and Life after Trump

Abstract

In this chapter, consideration is given to American politics in the post-Trump era. In light of the importance of securitarian orientations to Trump’s political rise, the chapter looks at the distribution of securitarians across the life cycle and across racial groups. Generational replacement is likely to lower the number of securitarians but the relatively large number of black securitarians could increase it. Other wings of the Republican Party tend to share securitarians’ general policy preferences, and this fact could keep the Republican coalition together, though strains will result from some people’s intense attachment to Trump himself. The biggest challenges facing the country will revolve around democratic values and political civility, both of which have been set back significantly. The struggle between securitarians and unitarians is the most fundamental of conflicts and needs to be understood if democracy is to be preserved in the post-Trump era.