NasserFakouhi, a lecturer at the University of Tehran, has, in an article published on the Persian-language Fararu website, analyzed US President Donald Trump’s “unorthodox behaviour and decisions” and described him as a prelude to the collapse of the United States’ global power. The highlights of the analytical piece written by this professor of anthropologyfollow.
[On how Trump came to power, the analyst said] Trump was not a phenomenon created overnight. He was the result of the irresponsibility of Democrats who brushed aside Bernie Sanders’ candidacy and brought to the spotlight a hated person such as Hilary Clinton, the result of the irresponsibility of Republicans who chose him as their candidate, the result of the common political populism in the US, the result of disregard for the necessity of democratization of culture and boosting the country’s cultural asset in the US in several decades, and especially the result of neo-liberal policies which came down hard on the average-income classes of society, and finally, the result of America’s ailing electoral system (The Electoral College.)
Trump is a reflection of, and a precursor to the collapse of Washington’s power on the international stage. Trump’s decisions indicate he has a passion for being at the center of attention. However, this ailing passion is dangerous for the US and for the whole world. The mechanisms for the start of atomic wars are worked out in such a way that personal decisions play a part in triggering them before rationality and collective decisions come into play. The Americans are familiar with this system. They know that when a person like Trump speaks of the need to increase the number of atomic warheads ten-fold, or speaks, with illusionary certainty, of the effectiveness of his tracker anti-missile systems to counter any kind of nuclear attacks, or keeps making provocative comments against a country with an egotistical leader such as North Korea, or seeks to disrupt the relative peace in the Persian Gulf created after the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal, all these words and deeds could create a critical and irreversible situation which might cause an unbelievable disaster. But the problem is that it would not be easy to get out of that situation.
We are dealing with a strange contradiction: On the one hand, Trump’s remaining in the White House even for one hour would be ominous; on the other, there is no hope that he will resign or will be removed from office in the short run. This situation might push the US toward a major chaos or, at least, a deep and unprecedented crisis over the Constitution.
[He was asked: To what extent do you think Trump’s character contributes to his reactions and decision-making. In response, the commentator said]More than anything else, Trump is a clumsy clown, a second-rate showman, a notorious charlatan whose fraud cases and whose family scandals are known to everyone. Therefore, we are not dealing with a powerful dealer and entrepreneur, but with a very corrupt and disgraceful player involved in suspicious mafia relations, relationship with foreign powers, as well as oil and arms cartels in the US. Trump is a person who the US political establishment thought could control. Washington didn’t even pay attention to former US President George W. Bush’s prediction in that regard.
Trump Has Small Brain, Big Mouth
[Asked about Trump’s claiming to be on good terms with Iranian people on the one hand, and using the misnomer “Arabian Gulf” instead of “Persian Gulf” on the other, the analyst answered] Trump has a small brain and a big mouth. His complimenting Iranian people and claiming to be an advocate of Iranians’ rights is pointless. If we are a little smart, we should distance ourselves from Trump’s apparent compliments. Trump’s compliments for any person and any country will be a disgrace for that person or country, and this is something that everyone in Europe and the US knows, and, hence, they distance themselves from him.
[As for how seriously he will take Trump’s decisions, the analyst said] It’s been a long time that the world does not take Trump’s words seriously. Today, almost all powerful leaders of the world, from Western Europe to Britain, the United States’ official ally, and from Japan and Russia to China, all are concerned that the world’s strongest economic and military power is in the hands of a half-lunatic person who is on the verge of complete insanity. No matter how much US officials say that they have predicted the possible dangers and have Trump under control, his back-to-back stupid remarks has further intensified the existing concerns, and only an Apartheid regime like Israel with its half-lunatic leaders encourage Trump.
In my estimation, Trump’s downfall has already come. The only point is how to set him aside with the least cost for the American establishment. In my opinion, the Trump phenomenon is one of the unprecedented ones in the 20th and 21st century. He is a lunatic individual similar to the character in Stanley Kubrick’s movie Dr. Strangelove.
The United States’ science and culture domain has nothing to do with its empire, and we should keep our fingers crossed that the empire will fall. Our wish is to see the world get rid of a monster created with World War II, and to see all American intellectuals, artists and scientists get extricated from the clutches of this monster of wealth and power which is manifested in Trump. This is while neo-liberals here in Iran still promote the models emanating from the American system. I am mostly concerned about the dangers posed by these neo-liberals who want to move our country forward with the US plan and drag the country into the same domain. Let’s not forget that a lunatic such as Trump is as dangerous to us as he is to the rest of the world.
I believe Trump’s behaviour can isolate the United States and prompt Europe to get closer to Iran. In my idea, if we remain committed to our obligations under the Iran nuclear deal, the US will become more isolated as it is today, which will see Iran get closer to Europe and other countries.
