A Decade in American Collapse, Plus “It Can’t Happen Here,” and a Trump Re-Election

I’m Umair Haque, and this is The Issue: an independent, nonpartisan, subscriber-supported publication. Our job is to give you the freshest, deepest, no-holds-barred insight about the issues that matter most.

New here? Get the Issue in your inbox daily.

Quick Links and Fresh Thinking

1. Nike Needs a Comeback (Bloomberg)
2. India’s Bengaluru is fast running out of water, and a long, scorching summer still looms (AP)
3. Climate models can’t explain 2023’s huge heat anomaly — we could be in uncharted territory (Nature)
4. UN calls for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza amid urgent efforts to avoid famine (The Guardian)
5. Trump escalates solidarity with Jan. 6 rioters as his own trials close in (WaPo)
6. The planet’s vital signs are alarming (El Pais)
7. Let’s Call Our Present Moment on Earth What It Is: Obscene (NYT)

It’s been a decade since I began discussing American collapse. It’s hard to believe—how time flies, I suppose. By now, that idea’s “gone mainstream,” as we say these days. And as I look back, it went a little bit like this. 

I don’t review to score points—but to ask: what lessons can we glean, for right now, at this still perilous juncture?

• I predicted American decline, and the rise of an authoritarianism. It was met with disbelief.
• Trump arose, right on cue, a few years later, and the idea that he’d win was met with…disbelief.
• As he took office, those of us who warned of abuses of power were met…disbelief, if not outright scorn and mockery.
• In the days leading up to Jan 6th, the possibility of a coup attempt was met with…you guessed it.
• After Trump finally left office, the idea that he’d resurge back into power was met with…exactly.

And yet here we are. Finally, at this point, I think, the notion that America might be on the brink, in some ways, has gained “traction,” meaning wider acceptance.

Still, even now, I wonder. If Trump’s re-elected, this time, is that enough to say American collapse is here…complete…happening? Call it what you like. We’re talking about social processes, which are difficult to put into words. The question, though, that strikes me, is this: if Trump’s re-elected, are those the final stages of American collapse?