We are in the midst of the worst public tragedy of my lifetime — the despoiling and destruction of America. The destruction is now extending beyond American democracy to encompass the American economy, American science and learning, and American culture. People ask me, in outrage or despair, “How and why is this happening?” I have my answers, as I’m sure you do.
Donald Trump is the proximate cause, but he cannot be the only cause, because one man, no matter how malignant or sociopathic, cannot do the damage that is occurring to so many dimensions of American life. Nor can the small group of twisted sycophants and lapdogs around him.
Today, I’d like to explore other major causes and have you assess which in your view is most responsible for this catastrophe other than Trump. Among the likeliest culprits:
1. Congressional Republicans. They’ve become spineless zombies, afraid to vote against whatever Trump wants for fear of being “primaried” by a Trump supporter when they’re up for reelection, or fear of being physically assaulted or even killed by Trump supporters and vigilantes. Yet because they control both chambers of Congress, Trump can get away with raiding Medicaid to give his billionaire buddies another giant tax cut, usurping the constitutional powers of Congress over spending the public’s tax dollars, allying with Putin against America’s traditional allies, putting utterly incompetent people into Cabinet positions, cutting deals with Big Oil to despoil the planet, imposing significant import taxes (tariffs) on Americans, and taking personal bribes from countries and companies eager to gain his favor.
2. The Supreme Court. Alito and Thomas were bad enough, but Trump’s three appointees combined with reactionary Chief Justice John Roberts now form a super-majority that is enabling Trump to do his worst. They’ve given him immunity from prosecution for anything he does that is arguably part of his official duties, allowed him to take over what had been designed as independent regulatory agencies, looked the other way when he sends active troops into American cities for no reason other than a baseless claim of a “crime wave,” enabled him to eliminate affirmative action from all government programs and public and private universities, and quietly assented to his reinterpretation of civil rights as “white rights” over people of color.
3. Trump voters. They’re not a majority of Americans (Trump won the 2024 election by just a 1.5 percent margin of those who bothered to vote), but they’ve become vocal, active, and belligerent. They roar with approval at his rallies, wear his hats and other paraphernalia, and act almost as if they’re in a religious cult, worshipping at the feet of Trump. Most importantly, they keep congressional Republicans in Trump’s camp. They listen to Fox News, Newsmax, and right-wing radio, all of which give them a steady stream of far-right propaganda and lies, which they repeat across their “red” states and towns, as if dispensing truth. They believe in white, male, Christian, nationalism. Most lack a college education. Most are white and living in rural areas of America. Many feel angry and bitter toward “coastal elites” they perceive as looking down on them and are easy prey for Trump’s demagoguery.
4. The Democratic Party. They’re confused and in disarray, looking for a “message” and lists of policies rather than confronting their abject failure over the last 40 years to stop widening inequalities of income and wealth and to prevent the corruption — legalized bribery in the form of large campaign contributions — by America’s big corporations and wealthiest individuals. Many Democratic politicians are afraid to tell voters the real reason incomes have stagnated and jobs have become less secure: because big corporations, their top executives, the mavens of Wall Street, and America’s billionaire oligarchy have rigged the system against average working people and in favor of profits and capital gains for themselves. Most Democratic politicians haven’t said this or done anything of significance to reverse the widening inequalities and stop the corruption, for fear of biting the hands that feed their campaign coffers.
So today’s Office Hours question: Other than Trump himself, who is most responsible for the catastrophe we’re now living through?
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Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.