A Deep Breath Before the Plunge

Four Days and Counting

I don’t know about you, but my anxiety level is pretty high as we approach November 5. As a foreigner, I shouldn’t care (in theory), but I’m cognizant of the immediate impact that the U.S. election will have on Canada and well beyond. In common with many outside the U.S., I’m flabbergasted that the presidential race is even close; the contrast between a fascist (and yes, I use that term purposely—see my recent article here) Donald Trump and an obviously competent and democratic Kamala Harris couldn’t be clearer.

A Fascist Patient Zero

A Trump win would have a cataclysmic impact on the international order, on trade relations, and on democratic institutions around the world. It will encourage his fellow travellers in Canada and beyond to become more extreme and pose a greater threat to our own democratic institutions. We’re already seeing this as Maple MAGA accuses the winning parties in recent provincial elections of cheating and corruption. It’s a page right out of Trump’s playbook, and it’s utterly toxic. Fascism already has a foothold in many countries; a Trump win will give it legitimacy and oxygen.

For Canada, the situation is even more fraught with danger. Canadians cannot escape every utterance by a U.S. national politician, and we are awash in U.S. media in all its forms. Some Canadians have, bizarrely, adopted Trumpism, including MAGA stock phrases and ideology, as their own. I believe they present as much of a danger to Canadian democracy as Trumpism does south of the border.

Impacts and Consequences

The impacts extend well beyond the ideological. I articulated some of the major effects on Canada here; however, there are other effects likely even more significant to the international community at large:

• Trump’s relationship with and sympathy for Vladimir Putin remains one of the bigger mysteries in U.S. politics. I do not subscribe to the idea that Trump is a Russian agent per se, but I do assume that the Kremlin regards him as what the KGB used to call a “useful idiot.” It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if someone in his inner circle were an SVR agent. Regardless of the truth, Trump’s affinity for Russia would have grave consequences on Western security relationships. It would be an utter disaster for Ukraine, which is currently battling Russia in one of the least morally ambiguous conflicts since the Second World War.

• Trump views alliances as some sort of protection racket, likely because he views everything through a personal lens. Some Americans want to credit Trump with convincing NATO allies to increase their own defence spending. Such a view misses the point: allies have increased spending because they came to view the U.S. as an unreliable and destabilizing force, not because of Trump’s blackmail or supposed persuasive abilities.

• Under a second Trump regime (I use that word deliberately), we are almost certain to see a return to U.S. isolationism akin to the 1920s and ’30s. Such a return will give free rein to Russia and China to intimidate democracies and act with impunity on the international stage. This will directly impact U.S. trading relationships and could have a substantial effect on the West’s economies writ large.

• Part and parcel with this is Trump’s complete lack of understanding of how tariffs work. There’s now talk of a Republican administration imposing a 10% tariff on all imports, with higher tariffs on specific goods. The effect on the U.S. economy and on global markets, supply chains, and inflation could be catastrophic.

On virtually every front, a Trump presidency has the potential to be destabilizing, destructive, and dangerous. International security, international trade, climate change, foreign assistance, culture, and governance will all suffer the effects of a capricious, demagogic, and isolationist United States. U.S. policy will reflect the whims and personality of its leadership—Donald Trump.

A Tipping Point

I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that we’re at a tipping point. I’m completely convinced that a fascist Trump presidency will be a disaster for the U.S. domestically and internationally, with repercussions around the globe. We only have to look at his first term in office, when Trump was restrained by some responsible members of his administration, to see what a second term with an unrestrained president will bring.

That close to 50% of the population of one of the most wealthy, educated, and highly skilled nations on the planet is prepared to elect the worst candidate fielded by a major democracy since the end of the Second World War is deeply disturbing. Trump’s vitriol, lying, malignant narcissism, unpredictability, lack of empathy, mental instability, affinity for authoritarianism, selfishness, lack of judgment, and purely transactional thinking would be completely disqualifying even without the impeachments, civil judgments, and criminal convictions. Yet here we are, and the world outside the U.S. is confused, aghast, and anxious. It’s going to be a long four days.

Kitten Update

It may not help, but it can’t hurt, so here is a brief update on our rescued kittens.

It’s been just over two weeks since three tiny kittens appeared on our doorstep. We managed to rescue two of them and the mom but, alas, failed to find the third. The kittens are currently being fostered here on the Black Cloud while the mom has been transferred to the Humane Society’s shelter, where she’ll be rehabilitated and placed for adoption. The two we have no longer need to be fed by hand and are growing like weeds. They’re now busy exploring the house and meeting our other pets. In a couple more weeks, they’ll visit the vet again to be spayed, and then one will leave for her forever home with a very kind (and excited) neighbouring family. The other, the tabby—now named Freyja—will stay with us..

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