“He taught us something”: an expert takes stock of Trump's four years - bitter lessons for Germany too

Four years of Trump are coming to an end.

In the interview, political scientist Stephan Bierling mentions several important lessons Trump has for Germany - and also his profession.

Munich / Regensburg

- On the morning of November 9, 2016, there was great astonishment.

Despite all the polls and predictions,

the

.

In many places, however, the worries were even greater than the surprise: Will the entrepreneur, who is completely inexperienced in top-level politics and loudly rumored by the election campaign, disrupt the

and world politics?

It can be stated today: There was no lack of taboos, scandal, emotions and unexpected volts in the four years of Trump.

That makes the classification of the turbulent presidency *, the clarification of the question of what happened behind the noise from the White House, not easier.

The

- professor of international politics at the University of Regensburg - has dared to take stock.

In his current book

(Verlag CH Beck, € 16.95) he sums up

the history and events of the Trump years

shortly before the

*.

In an interview, Bierling explains what was really new about Trump's political style, what the consequences will be - and in which points the

important lessons for the Federal Republic, but also for scientists and journalists.

Donald Trump: "Tremendous instinct" - Big election surprise four years ago

Ippen-Digital-Zentralredaktion: Mr. Bierling, you wrote an entire book about Donald Trump's presidency to date.

Would you have expected, say, six years ago that you would have to deal with Trump in such depth?

Stephan Bierling: Nobody would have expected it!

From time to time Donald Trump had already expressed himself with political ideas - but that had been dismissed as public relations activities for his companies: for the TV shows, steaks, ties.

When he announced his candidacy, it was thought that this was the gag of 2015.

Ultimately, against all odds, he won the presidential election.

How could this happen?

This is the result of developments in the USA on the one hand and in the Republican Party on the other.

The United States is going through a process of change, economically and culturally.

And many people are overwhelmed by this rapid change - which is overall for the better.

They fear "falling off the back".

These are effects that we also see in Europe: with Brexit, the rise of Marine Le Pen or the AfD, for example.

On the other hand, the Republicans have been playing with archconservatism, with right-wing populism, since 1994.

Think of the tea party movement that emerged from nowhere in 2010 with a whole new level of aggressiveness.

These are all pieces of the mosaic that helped Trump's campaign gain traction.

Trump has also shown tremendous instinct for his electorate.

Donald Trump's presidential balance sheet: "There is no such thing as a larger calculation"

You state in your book that Trump won with a “second-rate campaign team” and against the Republicans' party strategy.

Can this still be explained with instinct?

Or wasn't there a bigger calculation than you might think?

Thanks to his many years on his TV show and the many political statements that he had made before, Donald Trump actually has a very good feeling for "what matters".

He has always considered himself to be a very good representative of the "Joe Sixpack", the average American - even though he was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth.

That he has this instinct helped a lot.

Even if the announced political results sometimes do not materialize later.

But there is no such thing as a major political calculation with Trump.

If there is a calculation, then it is always about self-glorification, recognition by one's own followers.

That's actually amazing.

Also in view of the multitude of taboos and pithy slogans that Trump has introduced into political life.

They also support the thesis: Much of it was not new at all.

Donald Trump has used a wide variety of political ideas.

The idea of ​​“America First”, for example, originated in the 1930s, from the America First group around Charles Lindbergh.

The slogan “Make America Great Again” is not new either, it is taken from a Reagan election campaign.

The anger towards Mexico and Mexicans is a motive that was stolen from the 1992 campaign of presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Protectionism is taken from the US trade union movement.

Only the mixture of all these elements was actually unique to date.

Donald Trump: "If something succeeds in foreign policy, it is often a" collateral benefit "

You just said that many of the announced results did not happen.

Trump has so far been able to point to good economic data.

The long line of economic development is actually constant.

The US economy has been on a recovery path since 2008 and 2009 - and that has continued under Trump.

He inherited a thriving economy from Obama.

With the massive tax cuts, he added a bit more.

At the cost of an enormous national debt, however.

However, there have also been foreign policy coups recently.

One could think of the surprising rapprochement in the Middle East.

If something succeeds in foreign policy, then under Trump it is often a "collateral benefit" and not a strategic goal.

When good things happen, it's in spite of and not because of Trump.

Foreign policy in particular cannot be completely personalized.

There are long lines that Trump can influence but not overthrow.

The US has been turning away from Europe for around 20 years.

The increased importance of China is also not a story that Trump invented.

Or the US withdrawal from the Middle East: It actually began with the second Bush administration.

Donald Trump: Corona has "wiped out" campaign plans

If the actual results are largely irrelevant, does the Trump phenomenon also point to a larger development?

To a world in which facts are no longer so important - or can be replaced by "alternative facts"?

The fact that Trump has created his own echo chamber in the United States, with Twitter, with

, with

, also shows a deeper division in society.

He has managed to embed large parts of the USA in his own world of thought.

One can almost see this US society as “tribes” who reject others because they are “the others”.

It was there before.

But Trump has introduced a new dimension again.

Nevertheless, with Corona and the accompanying economic slump, Trump is currently confronted with a problem that can really hardly be discussed away.

How does he deal with it?

That was exactly what was supposed to be the focus of his re-election campaign: Trump as a great economic zampano.

The Corona crisis has now actually wiped all of that away.

The entire re-election campaign building collapsed.

Now he is left with the massive confrontation with the Democrats - the frontal attacks on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, which were also witnessed at the Republican Congress.

The

you have to have the Democrats say the radical left and "fascist".

Because even Trump's own voters are quite unsettled.

He must now see how he can still mobilize them.

In principle, he falls back on his strategy of four years when he massively attacked Hilary Clinton.

But with Biden - as a man in the middle - it's much more difficult.

Biggest & Fastest Financial Recovery In History.

Next year will be BEST EVER, unless a very Sleepy person becomes President and massively raises your taxes - In which case, CRASH!

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2020

2020 US election: will Donald Trump win?

That's what author Stephan Bierling says

Do you dare to look into the crystal ball?

Will Trump win again?

The chances are much smaller than last time - Joe Biden is much harder to shake as a candidate.

At the same time, experience has shown that elections for presidents who run for a second term are always referendums on the first term of office of a president.

That is a completely different starting point.

"Donald Trump taught us something": Significant findings for Germany - and for journalists and scientists

Regardless of this: Are there any lessons from four years of Trump for political practice, also in Germany?

Foreign policy has shown that it is even more important to do your own homework.

In the Obama era, the Federal Republic had made itself very comfortable - although many of the points of conflict had existed for a long time: NATO's two percent target, the current dispute over the Baltic Sea pipeline, and the foreign trade surplus.

Germany was not well prepared on these issues - even when it came to taking on more responsibility together with France, for example.

There are also domestic lessons for the Federal Republic of Germany: for example, that it is important to cultivate cooperation and compromise as pillars of democracy.

Trump's tenure has damaged those pillars in a much older democracy.

Other countries, such as Turkey with Erdogan and Russia with Putin, show how a democracy can slide into an authoritarian construct.

Has Trump surprised you as a political scientist in the past four years - in terms of productive conclusions?

Donald Trump once again taught us political scientists - but certainly also the journalists - that politics is not just about increasing living standards or economic indicators.

But also about respect and feelings.

Hilary Clinton, who can be seen more as an accountant than a thoroughbred politician, had to experience this first hand.

The population wants to see their own fears and worries, their emotions, also taken up by top politics.

Trump understood that.

Democracy is more than a numbers game.

Interview: Florian Naumann / * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

List of rubric lists: © Drew Angerer / AFP