One measure of what stunts America’s left — and western globalists in general — is faith in “the arc of history”. In spite of all that has happened, Barack Obama is still wedded to the phrase. The future is on our side, he believes — even if the present is stampeding the other way.
Donald Trump is purging every vestige of Mr Obama’s legacy. From the Iran nuclear deal to post-racial America, he is the incinerator-in-chief. It is thus reassuring to know that he is destined for history’s ash heap. Mr Trump may not be aware of his fate but educated people are.
Alas, the problem with the long run is that it can take a long time to come. Lots of stuff can happen in between. Even if Mr Trump were defeated in 2020, it could take years to restore confidence in the US. The world is not on pause as it awaits the return of America’s better angels. Facts on the ground keep changing. Mr Trump is doing a better job of reinventing those facts than his detractors acknowledge. Watch the “ populist internationale” springing up among hard-right parties across the west. Mr Trump is their Karl Marx. They show more savvy in creating affinities among themselves than the west’s retreating social democrats.