From Nixon to Trump: Historian warns Trumpism signals imperial decline of America

From Nixon to Trump: Historian warns Trumpism signals imperial decline of America

Thursday, May 1, 2025
Rick Perlstein, a prominent historian of the conservative movement in the United States, told Al Jazeera that Trumpism echoes pre-industrial empires, with strongmen like Putin carving up spheres of influence like "a Godfather cake." 

He traced America’s decline from post-World War II prosperity to today’s "cultural neurosis," where thrashing imperial nostalgia fuels Trump’s strongman appeal. 

Comparing Trump’s rhetoric to Nazi-era propaganda, he warned of an information war eroding democratic reality—epitomised by spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt’s "enemy"-framing briefings. 

Perlstein fears Trumpland may chronicle democracy’s end, citing Lincoln’s "government by the people" as collateral. The internet’s "derangement," he argued, enables this collapse, with allies like Musk amplifying disinformation. 

His analysis framed Trump not as unprecedented but as a symptom of imperial decay—with global consequences.