The death throes of the Trump presidency

Brooks Newmark | 10th January 2021 | Comment, Magazine, Politics, Washington
Donald Trump (Credit: Gage Skidmore) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)
Donald Trump (Credit: Gage Skidmore) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

The last days of Trump have seen the US descend into chaos amid riots and the invasion of the Capitol building in Washington, but it's not the last of the Donald, says Brooks Newmark

“They’ve realised that this country has gone so flabby that any gang daring enough and unscrupulous enough, and smart enough not to seem illegal, can grab hold of the entire Government and have all the power and applause.” Sinclair Lewis's prophetic observation in It Can Happen Here (1934) of a future America came closer to reality than ever with the invasion of the US Capitol building for the first time since the British Army took it over and set it on fire in 1814. The fact that this invasion was instigated by a sitting President only made matters worse. The President-elect Joe Biden said of the attack on the Capitol “They weren’t protestors…they were rioters, a mob. Insurrectionists. Domestic Terrorists.” He went on “I wish we could say we couldn’t see it coming. But that isn’t true. We could. For the past four years, we have had a President who has made his contempt for our democracy, our constitution and the rule of law clear in everything he has done.” It was only the threat of i...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Strategist: How to Win Elections with Jim Messina

William Cash | October 4, 2020

In an exclusive Mace interview, William Cash talks to Jim Messina, the man known as The Fixer for his success in both Obama and Cameron election campaigns.

Hard rain coming: Inside the Whitehall revolution

Mace | October 4, 2020

George Peel examines Downing Street’s ruthless approach to civil service reform

The Corridor – Blues Brother

Mace | October 4, 2020

The ascension of Davie to the top job at the Beeb in June aroused a considerable degree of suspicion among the corporation’s not insubstantial number of lefties on

Pepys: A Tsar is Born

Mace | October 4, 2020

Since the first UK tsar was appointed, a veritable explosion has followed – but what exactly are the rules regarding such headline-garnering appointments?

The Spike: The Hard Nose of Harry Cole

Rosa Herxheimer | October 4, 2020

In the grand tradition of lobby journalists, The Sun’s swashbuckling new political editor is not afraid to rub people up the wrong way.

The Courtier: Simon Case from Court to Cabinet

Olenka Hamilton | October 4, 2020

Can the man who positioned the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as the royal family’s greatest asset now rescue the beleaguered civil service?

Wonk Warriors: The Think Tanks that Run the Show

Ferdie Rous | October 4, 2020

Ferdie Rous looks at the brightest and best think tanks operating in Westminster and looks at how Covid gave think tanks a revamp

Digital Confidential: Flood the Zone

Damian Collins MP | October 3, 2020

In his first column on politics and digital technology, Damian Collins MP writes about flood zones, the deep state and why Silicon Valley is evasive over fake news

The Unconventional Diplomat – Vanessa Neumann

Mace | October 3, 2020

I signed up for diplomacy, but got politics, says Venezuela's British Ambassador

Unspun: Mess with Government Comms at your Peril

Ed Amory | October 3, 2020

Those undertaking Dominic Cummings’ shake-up of government communications should not underestimate the persuasive power of Downing Street’s Nudge Unit