Donald Trump builds his legend with alternative facts

Audio 03:41

Former US President Donald Trump during his meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, October 9, 2021. To his left, on the podium, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley.

© REUTERS - RACHEL MUMMEY

By: Sophie Malibeaux

4 min

Donald Trump is talking about him again.

Excluded from major digital platforms after the events of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the former President of the United States is nevertheless back in a meeting, where he still displays the same denial in the face of his electoral failure of November 2020, with a desire to 'erase the memory of the violence on Capitol Hill, so many worrying signals for American democracy.

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While proposing to " 

 ", Donald Trump is putting American institutions to the test. His speech has remained unchanged for almost a year. He is not an opponent like any other. His criticisms of the current power appear in the background of his strategy. First of all, he keeps hammering " 

 ", and continues to push the story of a usurped victory, marred by massive fraud, despite the failure of legal remedies. In his drive to rewrite history, the former president also strives to erase from memories the

, when his supporters tried to prevent Congress from certifying Joe's election. Biden. 

The resilience of the institutions involved 

The fight is asymmetrical between an administration that uses legal channels, and a former president who did not hesitate - before leaving power - to put pressure on the Ministry of Justice to get its officials to adhere to it. version of the facts about the outcome of the ballot. His multiple attempts are documented, as well as his role in the organization of the insurrectionary movement which led some of his supporters to invade the seat of Congress. But the Special Commission in charge of shedding light on these events is not sure of being able to complete its work by the mid-term elections in November 2022. Among Donald Trump's relatives summoned by the Commission, some try to escape. Steve Bannon the former adviser to the President should have been auditioned this Thursday, October 14,but did not show up to Congress. His testimony is crucial. The Commission seeks to establish its influence with Donald Trump ahead of the events on Capitol Hill, when he no longer held official responsibilities. He could face prosecution for obstructing the work of Congress. It doesn't matter to him, he plays the watch. The legal debate could considerably slow down the work of the Special Commission. If the Republican Party wins in November 2022, what will happen to this commission of inquiry?It doesn't matter to him, he plays the watch. The legal debate could considerably slow down the work of the Special Commission. If the Republican Party wins in November 2022, what will happen to this commission of inquiry?It doesn't matter to him, he plays the watch. The legal debate could considerably slow down the work of the Special Commission. If the Republican Party wins in November 2022, what will happen to this commission of inquiry?   

The critical mid-term deadline 

In the end, it is democracy itself - the electoral system and the principle of alternation - which are weakened by this rhetoric, and not just a party and a leadership team.

The Republican Party, too, is under pressure.

We saw during the meeting of Des Moines in Iowa the American senator Chuck Grassley - who plans to represent himself soon - take the stage alongside Donald Trump and declare: " 

 ”.

This same senator however voted the nomination of Biden.

A few months ago, he accused Donald Trump of " 

 " for his challenge to the results.

As the midterm elections draw closer, the ranks of those who think they can do without Donald Trump's support are thinning.  

QAnon still maneuvering?  

Without it being really possible to measure the extent of the QAnon movement, the ideas disseminated by the followers of the movement continue to spread on the networks. And even if Donald Trump is no longer there, on Twitter, to relay some of their theories, other platforms host these increasingly radical conspiratorial accounts. A certain Tom Watkins - one of the instigators of QAnon - has just announced that he would run in Arizona, pictured on Telegram alongside Kari Lake, a candidate for governor, supported by Donald Trump. It is a part of the electorate to which the former president seems to hold, he who asked this week that justice be done for Ashley Babitt, one of the muses of the movement, who died during the assault on the Capitol.In his march towards the return to power, Trump plays on two antagonistic registers, the victor and the victim.  

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