Donald Trump’s
presidency is the opening act of America's tragic decline. By rotting
the nation’s collective soul he irreversibly embeds fascism into the
heart of US political culture.
By Fareed Khan
A version of this article can be found on Substack.
By Fareed Khan
A version of this article can be found on Substack.
A nation can survive its fools as leaders and even their ambitions.
But it cannot survive treason from within, and that is what Donald Trump
is committing—treason against the United States since he was re-elected
in 2024. In most instances the traitor doesn’t appear as a traitor but
rather as someone who speaks in language and ideas familiar to their
victims, appealing to the basest instincts that lie deep within the
hearts of all human beings. But when in power, they rot the soul of a
nation with their policies and actions, working secretly and openly to
undermine its foundational pillars. They infect the body politic so
deeply that it can no longer resist their machinations. One could even
say that in some ways they are to be more feared than hardened
criminals.
As
the world enters the second year of Donald Trump’s second presidency,
the US (and the world) stands at a precipice. Trump’s return to the
White House, admittedly a remarkable political resurrection, has also
been a harbinger of an irreversible decline. His leadership and the
people in his administration are systematically eroding the moral and
institutional foundations of the US, transforming it from a supposed
beacon of democracy into a hollow shell of authoritarianism. This is not
hyperbole but a sober assessment drawn from historical parallels and
contemporary analyses. Trump’s presidency is rotting the soul of
America, initiating a long decline from superpower status that future
administrations will be unlikely to reverse.
Consider the soul of a nation as its collective ethos—the shared values of liberty, justice, and human dignity that American leaders have used to define the nation since its founding. Trump has assaulted this ethos in a relentless fashion since his first administration. His rhetoric, laced with divisive and dehumanizing language, has normalized hatred and eroded empathy in American society. As one critical essay noted, Trump embodies a reflection of America’s darker impulses, much like the portrait in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, revealing the ugliness beneath the surface. His policies and pronouncements have fostered a culture where truth is malleable, facts are “alternative,” and dissent is branded as terrorism or disloyalty. This corrosion is evident in the surge of political violence and polarization that has intensified since his first election in 2016. Scholars have argued that Trump’s presidency destroyed virtues essential to national ambition like intellectualism and integrity, leading to a shredding of the nation’s moral fabric.
This rotting of America’s soul, which has been in progress for years, is inextricably linked to the nation’s slow decline as a global superpower. For decades, the US has maintained its hegemony through military might, economic dominance, and soft power—while trumpeting the allure of its democratic ideals. Under Trump, these pillars are deteriorating. His isolationist “America First” agenda has alienated allies, weakened international institutions, and emboldened adversaries like Russia and China. Analyses by senior officials from the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations highlight how Trump’s decisions have systematically shrunk the US from a global leader to a regional power, with irreversible damage to its credibility. The abandonment of multilateral agreements, such as his threats to withdraw from NATO and pull back from multiple international institutions and bodies, has signalled to the world that America is unreliable as a partner and an ally. As one report starkly puts it, Trump’s administration is steadily undermining US power, creating a more chaotic international order where American influence diminishes with every passing day. And this decline is structural not temporary. The erosion of trust in the US by its allies and trading partners means that even if the Democrats regained power they would struggle to rebuild alliances and friendships, marking the beginning of a long, inexorable slide from superpower status.
Central to this transformation is Trump’s pushing the US toward fascism, epitomized by his weaponization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a modern day gestapo, his scapegoating of immigrants and the LGBTQ2 and his systematic efforts to delegitimize democratic institutions. Under Trump’s directives, ICE has expanded into a paramilitary force with a budget surpassing all other policing agencies combined, instigating deadly violence on the streets of American cities, conducting raids, mass deportations, and surveillance that echo the tactics of authoritarian regimes. Reports from human rights observers describe ICE operations as intensifying in a manner reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, with agents employing fear and brutality to enforce draconian policies.
Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants as “vermin” and “poisoning the blood” of America draws directly from Hitler’s playbook, dehumanizing entire populations to justify state violence. This is not mere enforcement of immigration law, it is the building of an authoritarian state apparatus. Critics of Trump’s regime argue that he has successfully created a fascist state through his policies and actions—a nation that fought fascism in World War Two at great cost has become a fascist authoritarian state, where loyalty to Trump’s personality cult supersedes the rule of law, and dissent is crushed under the guise of security.
However, the most chilling aspect of Trump’s embrace of fascism is that it is not confined to Trump himself. It is embedded in the MAGA movement that is the foundation of his power, and the people around him, ensuring it will not disappear even if Trump leaves the stage through impeachment, defeat, or death. Figures like Vice President J.D. Vance—a one-time critic of Trump who compared him to Hitler—embody this enduring threat. He has become a fervent disciple, echoing the fascist undertones of MAGA ideology with appeals to raw power and exclusionary, racist nationalism.
Analyses of Trumpism describe it as a form of authoritarianism that radicalizes in office, with leaders like Vance and cabinet members worshipping at the altar of Trump’s ideology and his personality cult. The cabinet, stocked with loyalists who prioritize personal allegiance over constitutional duty, includes ideologues who push for policies that entrench fascist elements—such as mass surveillance, voter suppression, and the erosion of judicial independence. Even if Trump vanished, these true believers would continue to carry his torch, even as fascism in America becomes a cancer and not the personal quirk of one man. Scholars warn that utilizing terms like “fascism” to describe what is happening in the US is politically essential to mobilize against this movement, which has realigned political and economic grievances into nationalist exclusion.
Beyond America’s borders, Trump’s fixation on the Arctic poses existential dangers to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. As Arctic nations, these countries not only control vital resources but also strategic sea lanes that will become increasingly contested due to climate change and thawing Arctic ice. Trump’s repeated threats to seize Greenland—which he framed as essential for US security—reveal a colonial and imperialist mindset that treats sovereign territories as real estate that can be bought or threatened into the arms of the US. His administration views the Arctic as a battleground against Russia and China, but his aggressive rhetoric has escalated tensions, putting allies at risk. For Canada, this means heightened vulnerability in the Arctic, where Trump’s complaints about inadequate defences could lead to coercive demands or unilateral US actions on or over Canadian territory in the far north.
Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, faces direct threats of annexation which could destabilize NATO and invite broader conflicts, despite Trump’s recent walk back. Key Arctic allies Iceland and Norway, are similarly endangered by Trump’s zero-sum approach, which prioritizes American dominance over cooperative security. Experts argue that Trump’s Greenland gambit exposes the costs of overt aggression, risking monumental fallout across the NATO alliance. This obsession exposes Trump’s ignorance, political folly and antipathy towards international relations and diplomacy that endangers the delicate balance that has maintained stability in the Arctic for more than a century.
Ultimately, Donald Trump’s presidency is not just another chapter in American history but the opening act of its tragic decline. By rotting the nation’s collective soul with the ugliness of his political vision, fostering fascism through institutions like ICE, initiating racist immigration policies, and vilifying immigrants, minorities and anyone who opposes him, Trump is embedding an irreversible authoritarian movement into the heart of US political culture, and setting the nation on a path from which recovery seems impossible in the short term. The dangers also extend northward, threatening Canada and its Arctic neighbours with a belligerent hegemonic power fixated on territorial expansion.
History teaches us that empires fall not from external foes but from internal rot, and the US is no exception—its foundations crumbling under the weight of division, deceit, and demagoguery sown by a leader who prioritizes and covets absolute power over principle. From the Roman Empire’s descent into corruption and tyranny to the British Empire’s erosion through moral decay and overreach, the pattern is clear—nations implode when their core values are poisoned from within, and when they allow personalities into positions of leadership who crave political and economic supremacy at home and abroad.
The Trump era has accelerated America’s decay, turning democratic institutions into tools of oppression, eroding trust in government, and normalizing hatred that fractures communities and silences dissent. It is time for the world—and Americans themselves—to recognize Trump’s treason from within as the insidious betrayal it truly is—a deliberate assault on liberty, equality, and justice that echoes the darkest chapters of history. Americans must act with unyielding resolve, through global solidarity, vigilant advocacy, and unwavering resistance, before the pillars of American democracy collapse entirely, leaving behind a hollow shell of what was once a nation that saw itself a beacon of democracy and freedom, and dragging its neighbours and allies into the abyss of instability and conflict.
© 2026 The View From Here. © 2026 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
Consider the soul of a nation as its collective ethos—the shared values of liberty, justice, and human dignity that American leaders have used to define the nation since its founding. Trump has assaulted this ethos in a relentless fashion since his first administration. His rhetoric, laced with divisive and dehumanizing language, has normalized hatred and eroded empathy in American society. As one critical essay noted, Trump embodies a reflection of America’s darker impulses, much like the portrait in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, revealing the ugliness beneath the surface. His policies and pronouncements have fostered a culture where truth is malleable, facts are “alternative,” and dissent is branded as terrorism or disloyalty. This corrosion is evident in the surge of political violence and polarization that has intensified since his first election in 2016. Scholars have argued that Trump’s presidency destroyed virtues essential to national ambition like intellectualism and integrity, leading to a shredding of the nation’s moral fabric.
This rotting of America’s soul, which has been in progress for years, is inextricably linked to the nation’s slow decline as a global superpower. For decades, the US has maintained its hegemony through military might, economic dominance, and soft power—while trumpeting the allure of its democratic ideals. Under Trump, these pillars are deteriorating. His isolationist “America First” agenda has alienated allies, weakened international institutions, and emboldened adversaries like Russia and China. Analyses by senior officials from the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations highlight how Trump’s decisions have systematically shrunk the US from a global leader to a regional power, with irreversible damage to its credibility. The abandonment of multilateral agreements, such as his threats to withdraw from NATO and pull back from multiple international institutions and bodies, has signalled to the world that America is unreliable as a partner and an ally. As one report starkly puts it, Trump’s administration is steadily undermining US power, creating a more chaotic international order where American influence diminishes with every passing day. And this decline is structural not temporary. The erosion of trust in the US by its allies and trading partners means that even if the Democrats regained power they would struggle to rebuild alliances and friendships, marking the beginning of a long, inexorable slide from superpower status.
Central to this transformation is Trump’s pushing the US toward fascism, epitomized by his weaponization of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a modern day gestapo, his scapegoating of immigrants and the LGBTQ2 and his systematic efforts to delegitimize democratic institutions. Under Trump’s directives, ICE has expanded into a paramilitary force with a budget surpassing all other policing agencies combined, instigating deadly violence on the streets of American cities, conducting raids, mass deportations, and surveillance that echo the tactics of authoritarian regimes. Reports from human rights observers describe ICE operations as intensifying in a manner reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo, with agents employing fear and brutality to enforce draconian policies.
Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants as “vermin” and “poisoning the blood” of America draws directly from Hitler’s playbook, dehumanizing entire populations to justify state violence. This is not mere enforcement of immigration law, it is the building of an authoritarian state apparatus. Critics of Trump’s regime argue that he has successfully created a fascist state through his policies and actions—a nation that fought fascism in World War Two at great cost has become a fascist authoritarian state, where loyalty to Trump’s personality cult supersedes the rule of law, and dissent is crushed under the guise of security.
However, the most chilling aspect of Trump’s embrace of fascism is that it is not confined to Trump himself. It is embedded in the MAGA movement that is the foundation of his power, and the people around him, ensuring it will not disappear even if Trump leaves the stage through impeachment, defeat, or death. Figures like Vice President J.D. Vance—a one-time critic of Trump who compared him to Hitler—embody this enduring threat. He has become a fervent disciple, echoing the fascist undertones of MAGA ideology with appeals to raw power and exclusionary, racist nationalism.
Analyses of Trumpism describe it as a form of authoritarianism that radicalizes in office, with leaders like Vance and cabinet members worshipping at the altar of Trump’s ideology and his personality cult. The cabinet, stocked with loyalists who prioritize personal allegiance over constitutional duty, includes ideologues who push for policies that entrench fascist elements—such as mass surveillance, voter suppression, and the erosion of judicial independence. Even if Trump vanished, these true believers would continue to carry his torch, even as fascism in America becomes a cancer and not the personal quirk of one man. Scholars warn that utilizing terms like “fascism” to describe what is happening in the US is politically essential to mobilize against this movement, which has realigned political and economic grievances into nationalist exclusion.
Beyond America’s borders, Trump’s fixation on the Arctic poses existential dangers to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. As Arctic nations, these countries not only control vital resources but also strategic sea lanes that will become increasingly contested due to climate change and thawing Arctic ice. Trump’s repeated threats to seize Greenland—which he framed as essential for US security—reveal a colonial and imperialist mindset that treats sovereign territories as real estate that can be bought or threatened into the arms of the US. His administration views the Arctic as a battleground against Russia and China, but his aggressive rhetoric has escalated tensions, putting allies at risk. For Canada, this means heightened vulnerability in the Arctic, where Trump’s complaints about inadequate defences could lead to coercive demands or unilateral US actions on or over Canadian territory in the far north.
Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous Danish territory, faces direct threats of annexation which could destabilize NATO and invite broader conflicts, despite Trump’s recent walk back. Key Arctic allies Iceland and Norway, are similarly endangered by Trump’s zero-sum approach, which prioritizes American dominance over cooperative security. Experts argue that Trump’s Greenland gambit exposes the costs of overt aggression, risking monumental fallout across the NATO alliance. This obsession exposes Trump’s ignorance, political folly and antipathy towards international relations and diplomacy that endangers the delicate balance that has maintained stability in the Arctic for more than a century.
Ultimately, Donald Trump’s presidency is not just another chapter in American history but the opening act of its tragic decline. By rotting the nation’s collective soul with the ugliness of his political vision, fostering fascism through institutions like ICE, initiating racist immigration policies, and vilifying immigrants, minorities and anyone who opposes him, Trump is embedding an irreversible authoritarian movement into the heart of US political culture, and setting the nation on a path from which recovery seems impossible in the short term. The dangers also extend northward, threatening Canada and its Arctic neighbours with a belligerent hegemonic power fixated on territorial expansion.
History teaches us that empires fall not from external foes but from internal rot, and the US is no exception—its foundations crumbling under the weight of division, deceit, and demagoguery sown by a leader who prioritizes and covets absolute power over principle. From the Roman Empire’s descent into corruption and tyranny to the British Empire’s erosion through moral decay and overreach, the pattern is clear—nations implode when their core values are poisoned from within, and when they allow personalities into positions of leadership who crave political and economic supremacy at home and abroad.
The Trump era has accelerated America’s decay, turning democratic institutions into tools of oppression, eroding trust in government, and normalizing hatred that fractures communities and silences dissent. It is time for the world—and Americans themselves—to recognize Trump’s treason from within as the insidious betrayal it truly is—a deliberate assault on liberty, equality, and justice that echoes the darkest chapters of history. Americans must act with unyielding resolve, through global solidarity, vigilant advocacy, and unwavering resistance, before the pillars of American democracy collapse entirely, leaving behind a hollow shell of what was once a nation that saw itself a beacon of democracy and freedom, and dragging its neighbours and allies into the abyss of instability and conflict.
© 2026 The View From Here. © 2026 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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