Donald Trump, a failed president who was twice impeached and could face criminal charges for some of his misdeeds, failed at something else: turning America into a totalitarian society.
That's the view of Simon Chadwick, born in South Africa the son of an exiled anti-apartheid activist. Chadwick grew up in a totalitarian society that suppressed opposition, oppressed large segments of the population, and where politicians engineered society to their own advantage.
In a new episode of the NFN Radio News podcast, Chadwick says the similarities to what Trump tried to achieve in the U.S. and apartheid South African were many, and began even before he won the 2016 election.
"He was deploying during the campaign one of the dictator's standard mantra: everything is carnage, a mess, a disaster. It's all the fault of insert your favorite group where he was concerned. It was Mexicans, Democrats, socialists, whatever. Only I can fix it and everything will be wonderful. He did that over and over and over again. And that is exactly what every wannabe dictator does," says Chadwick in our interview.
Chadwick says Trump's rise to power and subsequent actions prompted him to write the book, "For the People: A Citizen's Manifesto to Shaping Our Nation's Future." In South Africa, recalls Chadwick, "One party basically ruled, and they ruled by fear, fear of other people, in this case, Blacks. Sometimes fear of Communists."
On the podcast, Chadwick recounts the thousands of Trump's lies that he told over and over again -- another trait of the wannabe dictator. "All those who are dictators will eventually lose sight of the truth, obfuscate the truth, and downright lie," he says.
Likewise, Trump's cynical treatment of Blacks and the rise in racist rhetoric and actions that occurred during his administration were also reminiscent of life in apartheid South Africa, Chadwick observes during our conversation in which he discusses the extreme cruelty minorities faced during that period.
The author also decries the influence of big dollar contributions to political campaigns. "American politics has become corrupt to its very core," he says, proposing several ways the U.S. might learn from other countries that are able to control campaign contributions and spending.
Nevertheless, Chadwick says he is optimistic that the U.S. can weather the Trump storm and the influence he has had on politics and, indeed, our society.
"I think there is a lot more attention being paid these days as a result of the previous administration. One of the things that was phenomenal in the last election was Black turnout, young turnout was up as well, and however much the Republicans try to suppress the vote, I don't think they can succeed against either of those populations."
For more about this story and the complete interview, listen to the podcast here: