NewYorker | Even in a stable constitutional republic, a cynical or unmoored
citizenry presents an opportunity for demagogues and populists. As much
as stagnant wages in former manufacturing regions, glaring economic
inequality, or white backlash after the Obama Presidency, the country’s
disillusionment with institutions enabled Donald Trump’s election. Trump
had a sound instinct as he took office that public disgust with élites,
including those running the Republican Party, ran so deep that he—even
as a New York billionaire—could get away with outrageous attacks on
people or agencies previously believed to be off limits for a President,
because of the political backlash that the attacks would generate. After
his Inauguration, for example, Trump did not hesitate to denigrate the
C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies for promoting their independent
judgment that Russia had sought to aid his campaign. And the President’s
opportunistic assaults on less popular institutions—such as the news
media and Congress—have riled his base.
It is tempting to think that an institution like the F.B.I. enjoys such
credibility and public support that its agents and officials—and Mueller
himself—can rely on cross-party backing in a crisis, even if Republicans
remain silent now. Perhaps. But this was a party that refused to
challenge Trump’s backing of Roy Moore in Alabama’s Senate race. And an
understanding of what core Trump supporters believe about the F.B.I. and
Mueller has to take into account Gallup’s trend lines. While celebrating
this new year, it will require a certain degree of evidence-light
optimism to be convinced that the center will hold.
