The phenomenal and exceptional rise of Donald Trump is comparable to US exceptionalism itself as his chequered presence and Trumpism of the last ten years can match any Hollywood blockbuster. Exceptionalism is caused by a number of factors. American exceptionalism, with primacy of economics over politics, is both a product of its history and geography. Trump’s rise and consolidation reflects a sea change in the political landscape of a nation that had Life Magazine describe in 1941 the 20th century as “an American century”. This psyche allowed a rank outsider with impressive economic success to occupy the position of the President of the US in 2016 and in 2024. Those who thought 2016 to be a freak event had to concede that Trumpism is a reflection of his support among a majority of voters. In the post Second World War period, the hegemony of the US based order supported by the containment theory was possible due to the decline of the great European powers in general and the exit of Germany in particular. The Soviet led bloc was never a match or a threat to American domination.

Richard Nixon confidently declared that the US president was irrelevant for internal governance as the dominant social, economic and racial issues had been resolved perfectly well. Dahl’s theory of polyarchy and Lipset’s attribution that politics has become dull restricting it to decide ‘a nickel here and a nickel there’ aptly summarized this perception. So did the debate on End of Ideology and Marcuse’s One-Dimensional Man. But this equilibrium was shattered in the 1990s with the inauguration of the Clinton presidency in 1993. In an upset election, Bill Clinton defeated the incumbent, George H. W. Bush. Ross Perot, the third candidate polled 19 per cent of the popular vote upsetting Bush’s apple cart and also propelling the little-known Democrat Governor of........

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