Is Civil Discourse Coming After Trump’s Election?
Game Over for Civility?
Should we give up on the idea of civil discourse after the American people have elected Donald Trump? Short answer: no, we should not give up on the idea or ideal of civil discourse in a second Donald Trump administration. But those seeking to heal partisan divides and to restore civility and respect to American discourse may have to be patient and wily.
Many public figures may not employ civil discourse in the months to come. Possibly, President-Elect Trump’s vows to “punish or prosecute” political opponents or news outlets with unfavorable coverage will become reality. If so, the US will become a country with limited free speech rights.
In such circumstances, civil discourse and respect for those with whom we disagree may seem quaint and irrelevant. But they still remain the best way forward in the long run if we aim to reunite our polarized country.
Civil Discourse After the Election of Donald Trump
Let’s start with the positives. The American people have spoken. There is a clear winner. Trump won the popular vote and the Electoral College. Slightly more than half of those who voted (50.2%) should be happy with the election result.
The loser (receiving 48.1% of votes cast) conceded quickly, employing civil discourse and norms. The losing party accepts the results. There was no civil unrest after the election. There will be an orderly transfer of power in January.
Post mortems have begun to trickle in and will continue to outline why and how Trump won and Harris lost. We won’t have definitive answers for a while, if ever. For now, we at Kitchen Table Talk would like to explore:
1. whether increased polarization and decrease in civil discourse will continue during a second Trump term
2. what can be done to improve civil discourse and reunite the polarized US during a second Trump term
Will Civil Discourse Be More or Less Likely During Trump II?
Regardless of one’s feelings about the election results, it’s clear that President-Elect Trump and Vice-President Elect Vance didn’t campaign on civility and improving the tone of discourse in the United States. Mark Mellman explains in “The Hill”:
“But by giving voice to the concerns of his constituents, saying aloud what they said only in private and by being willing to suffer the opprobrium of the establishment for doing so, Trump proved to his followers that he really meant it — that he was authentic”.
For all the talk in the beginning about joy, Kamala Harris ended her campaign bludgeoning voters with horror stories about women who can’t get abortions in Texas and threats about Donald Trump as a fascist and would-be dictator.
Tim Walz got the VP nod partly because of his success in using the term “weird” to attack and rile Trump and his supporters. Possibly choosing a running mate partly based on coming up with an insult that lands will prove to have been less important than choosing someone with more intellectual heft or the ability to help pull in swing states.
We can do better.
Civil Discourse Is Not On The Rise
Election season 2024 wasn’t a high bar of civility and rhetoric despite the fact that both major parties agreed upon the importance of the election. Neither the Trump nor the Harris campaign offered a model of ultra-civil discourse or uplifting rhetoric.
But Trump and Vance and their opponents went farther, consistently hurling personal and meanspirited ad hominem insults, for example in calling Harris “trash” and “a low IQ individual”, etc. Of course, this is a huge part of who Trump and MAGA are, and of why some people like them.
Part of the appeal of MAGA and Trump is in saying things many people think but weren’t allowed to say before in the wake of “political correctness”, and to counter wokeness. For now, a very slim majority of the US appears to have approved these conversational methods.
Trump and MAGA have the mandate of the popular vote, a stronghold on the power centers of government, and expanded powers of the presidency. Consequently, the rhetoric and actions in Trump II may well continue to be nasty, uncordial, and angry or seek to stoke division.
Nobody should expect a sudden change in Trump and MAGA to more civility now that they’ve won more clearly than ever before. Even so, we will hope for, champion, and strive for civility and compromise wherever we can find them.
Now What?
But we’ve got to be realistic. Civil discourse, already at what seems like a low level, is likely to descend even further. The Democrats and anti-Trumpers are disappointed. They believe Trump is a danger to the country and the world. They make up just under half of those who voted in the election.
Given the number and beliefs of Trump’s opponents, Trump’s comprehensive victory, and the nature of the rhetoric and platform of Trump and his followers, as well as the ubiquity of social media, civil discourse is unlikely to ensue in the months ahead.
Much of Trump’s policies and positions relate to anger, at immigrants, at the Deep State, at the “libs”, at NATO, at wokeness, at the treatment of the January 6 rioters, at the prosecutions of Donald Trump, etc. Democrats and anti-Trumpers are about to become angry every day.
With Trump and MAGA in power, the Democrats and anti-Trumpers’ anger will be about actions instead of just policy and election promises. And they will have little power to stop such actions. This is not a recipe for a congenial coexistence between the parties or their followers.
More Will Be Revealed
Nobody knows whether Donald Trump will make good on his promises to impose across-the-board tariffs, lower taxes for the wealthy, to pardon the January 6 rioters (whom he calls “hostages”), to deport millions, to seek vengeance against his political enemies and media outlets who criticize him, to end the war in Ukraine in one day, and to upend the way the country’s alliances and worldview operate.
Nobody knows which policies or promises will take hold, or how, and what will happen if they do. Nobody knows how Elon Musk will factor into this, with his vast wealth and communication infrastructure.
While we’d like to see some sort of rapprochement and positivity in the United States in the period ahead, we think it unlikely. So far, winning the presidency hasn’t made MAGA more interested in talking to or caring about Democrats or lowering the tone in rhetoric and anger.
Conversely, losing the presidency hasn’t made Democrats less worried about Trump and the consequences they warned about, or closer with Republicans. Until Trump is in office and policies and actions occur, we’re likely to remain in high battle mode.
Civil discourse and cooperation matter: we can get there.
Why Civil Discourse Still Matters
This is an unfortunate situation because civil discourse, language, and tone do matter. They matter not for gentility or manners’ sake but because losing civility and respect and shared values in dealing with others leads to hatred, conflict, and ultimately violence.
Despite the clear victory, the country remains divided at roughly 50% supporting Trump and his policies. Meanwhile, roughly 50% oppose Trump, and fear the worst, including a retrenchment of democratic protections and rights and a descent into autocracy.
Civil discourse and showing respect to others leads to connections between people. Such behavior can help reduce divisions. Conversely, escalation of anger and hatred and lack of respect will create further polarization. We’re at a flash point. Thus, while likely to be in short supply, civil discourse is more important to the polarized US than ever before.
What Can Make Things Better
For now, wholesale positive changes in civil discourse, affect, and respect for others are unlikely to happen. But little things can make a difference over time. Perhaps we can all begin to chip away at the iceberg of incivility and discord.
As always, taking time to pause and not react, attack, inflame, or gloat can help lower the temperature and keep things civil in our personal lives. Reducing time on-line and on social media can only make everything better. Try increasing face-to-face contact with others, and keep going. Learning to check facts, sources, and assumptions, to connect, and to think critically when evaluating news will lead to better and kinder interactions.
Ultimately, only fact checking, critical thinking, and respect can take us out of the nether-world of “alternate facts” and polarization.
What will Trump II look like? Will civil discourse and compromise return to the United States? That seems improbable now. Within the next two to four years, we will have a better answer. Hopefully, the answer will be a positive one.
