Russell Banks responds to questions about the election put to him by a regular interlocutor from Nouvel Observateur.
1. Did anger and hatred against Obama contribute to Trump’s success?
Until now, on the eve of the winter solstice, at the start of a new astronomical year, I’ve put off trying to answer questions about the election of Donald Trump. I went to Ecuador and climbed in the Andes, cut myself off from radio and TV, the Internet and newspapers. I remained mostly silent, except to utter quiet moans and groans of despair or the low worried whimpering that follows a sudden fall from a great height after you’ve checked for broken bones and found none, but haven’t yet determined the extent of internal injuries. Since returning to the US, I’ve read most of the explanations for Trump’s victory by the pundits and commentators of the left, right, and center, and listened mainly in silence to my friends and colleagues as they try to explain how and why this mentally deranged ignoramus became the most powerful human being in the known universe.
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