Simon Lennon

The Individualism of Donald Trump Simon Lennon

Donald Trump is a product of his era: the West's Age of Individualism. As president, Trump did not mirror the American nationalists who supported him. He mirrored more the individualists who opposed him. Trump did not understand the nationalism that could have made America's interest his interest, American his identity, and fellow Americans his compatriots, any more than his opponents did. Instead, Trump's nationalism was an individualist nationalism, limited to the benefits that America and American nationalism were to him personally. He recognized the harm of globalism, but no more complete an individualist ever stumbled into the White House. Ultimately, individualism is always self-destructive.