Trump’s second run at the White House has plunged many Americans into anticipatory grief. This situation made me revisit this Thanatology text: Non-death Loss and Grief – Context and Clinical Implications, edited by Darcy L. Harris. Sheldon Soloman wrote the chapter titled “Mourning in Trump’s America,” during Trump’s first term in office. He explains Trump’s rise to power from the Terror Management Theory, national and global losses and the collective grief experienced by Trump’s detractors. Below, I share 3 excerpts describing why Americans (and the world) may mourn if Trump wins a second term on November 5.
Living in fear
Solomon writes that the following is a frighteningly accurate description of Trump, a charismatic populist leader, and his supporters:
- Audacity and a joy in defiance
- An iron will
- A fanatical conviction that he’s in possession of the one and only truth
- Faith in his destiny and luck
- A capacity for passionate hatred
- The complete disregard of the opinion of others
- The singlehanded defiance of the world
- Some deliberate misrepresentation of facts
“He can’t be frightened by danger nor disheartened by obstacles nor baffled by contradictions because he denies their existence.”
Living in despair
“Despair is felt because Trump, while reducing his followers’ existential anxieties by promoting his Make America Great Again worldview, poses a daunting existential challenge to his detractors’ worldviews.” This is based on their:
- Reliance on reason
- Admiration for democracy and civil society
- Faith in progress
- Respect for the natural environment
Living with loss
“Whereas Trump’s supporters were in despair prior to the [2016] election because they mourned the loss of better days in the past, the rest of the voting public are now in despair, mourning the impending losses in the future,” Soloman writes.
Our worldview changes when we experience a personal loss, like the death of a loved one or the end of a relationship. Following a loss, we often fear other threats to our sense of security and our worldview. According to Soloman, Trump would continue to “murder” truth, intelligence, civility and Planet Earth if he’s re-elected.
Have you ever considered how grief and loss overlap with the political process? The Trump years were a time when friendships ended and families broke into warring camps. Many of us lost loved ones to hatred and conspiracy theories. If you’re experiencing fear and anticipatory grief about the upcoming election, trust that it’s normal, know you’re not alone and seek support from trusted friends, family, and grief specialists if necessary.