The Legitimacy War in America Today - How Trumpism Has Permanently Reshaped Power
Legitimacy battles are not abstract debates - they shape laws, institutions, and daily life. In the U.S., the rise of Trumpism has not just influenced politics - it has fundamentally altered how legitimacy is understood and contested.
Trumpism is not just a political movement but a full-scale legitimacy war against fairness-based legitimacy. It has:
- Redefined who is considered a legitimate American.
- Reshaped how political, racial, gender, and economic legitimacy are framed.
- Permanently shifted institutions toward hierarchy-based legitimacy.
Even if Trump himself fades, Trumpism’s legitimacy war will continue.
How Trumpism Has Attacked Fairness-Based Legitimacy
Trumpism is defined by the rejection of fairness as a basis for power. It has systematically:
1. Delegitimized Elections and Democratic Processes
- 2016: Claimed the election was rigged before winning.
- 2020: Refused to accept his loss, fueling the “Big Lie.”
- 2024: Continues pushing election fraud conspiracies to undermine democratic legitimacy.
By rejecting electoral fairness, Trumpism has shifted legitimacy from democratic consent to raw power.
2. Attacked Racial, Gender, and LGBTQ+ Legitimacy
- Openly embraced white nationalist rhetoric.
- Pushed trans erasure laws and banned DEI programs.
- Positioned women’s rights as an attack on “traditional” legitimacy.
Trumpism seeks to restore racial, gender, and sexual hierarchies by stripping fairness-based legitimacy from marginalized groups.
3. Redefined Economic Legitimacy as Loyalty to Trumpism
- Rewarded wealthy allies with tax cuts.
- Framed billionaires as “job creators” while attacking social programs.
- Portrayed economic fairness as “socialism.”
Trumpism has reinforced wealth-based legitimacy while attacking policies that promote economic justice.
4. Weaponized “Anti-Woke” Rhetoric to Cement Hierarchy-Based Legitimacy
- Labeled any fairness-based legitimacy movement as “woke extremism.”
- Banned books, erased LGBTQ+ education, and rewrote history curriculums.
- Turned “anti-wokeness” into a unifying legitimacy test for the right.
Trumpism frames fairness as a threat, reinforcing the idea that hierarchical legitimacy must be restored.
Trumpism’s Institutional Damage - Legitimacy That Cannot Be Undone
The most dangerous aspect of Trumpism is that many of its legitimacy shifts are permanent.
- Judiciary → Trump stacked courts with hierarchy-based legitimacy judges who will rule for decades.
- State governments → Anti-democratic laws, voting restrictions, and gerrymandering will outlast Trump’s presidency.
- Media & Information → Right-wing propaganda networks have permanently reshaped public discourse.
- International Standing → U.S. legitimacy abroad has been eroded, with authoritarian leaders emboldened.
Trump’s legitimacy war has fundamentally altered institutions in ways that cannot simply be reversed by another election.
The Legitimacy War Will Continue, Even Without Trump
Even if Trump were to disappear, Trumpism’s legitimacy framework will persist.
- Future leaders will build on Trump’s attacks on fairness-based legitimacy.
- Right-wing movements globally have adopted Trumpist rhetoric.
- The legitimacy war is now a central feature of American politics, not a temporary phenomenon.
The key question is: Will fairness-based legitimacy survive, or will Trumpism’s legitimacy framework define the future?
Further Reading
¹ Timothy Snyder, The Road to Unfreedom (2018) – Explores how authoritarian legitimacy strategies spread globally.
² Anne Applebaum, Twilight of Democracy (2020) – Examines how legitimacy wars erode democratic institutions.
³ Steven Levitsky & Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die (2018) – Analyzes how legitimacy crises lead to authoritarianism.
⁴ Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Strongmen (2020) – Investigates how leaders like Trump use hierarchy-based legitimacy to consolidate power.
⁵ Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works (2018) – Discusses the role of legitimacy manipulation in authoritarian movements.
