How America fell for the greatest political con trick of modern times, and why the latest election results might finally signal the beginning of the end.

The Second Coming. Apparently.

Well, well, well.

The Republicans have taken an absolute kicking in the American midterm elections, with the Democrats winning control of Congress. But fear not, because Donald Trump has explained everything.

Apparently, the Republicans would have won in a landslide if his name had been on the ballot. Trump said so himself, which, as we all know, makes it an established fact.

This is a creature who could fall down a flight of stairs, land in a skip full of shit and announce that it was the greatest staircase descent in American history.

And millions of halfwits would applaud.

But what continues to fascinate me is how this extraordinary cretin managed to convince so many deeply religious Americans that he was sent by God to save their country.

Because, frankly, if God really did send Donald Trump, somebody needs to have a quiet word with the recruitment department.

Thou Shalt Not. Unless You’re Donald.

Consider the candidate.

A man with a history of bankruptcies, a fraud conviction, sexual misconduct findings, a spectacularly complicated relationship with the truth and a recorded enthusiasm for grabbing women by the pussy.

Not exactly the sort of chap you’d expect to be delivering the Sunday sermon. Yet millions of evangelical Christians embraced him as their champion.

In the 2024 presidential election, an astonishing 81% of white evangelical Protestant voters supported Trump. Even more remarkably, a 2024 survey found that 60% of white evangelical Protestants believed God had ordained him to win.

Sixty per cent! Fuck me.

I’m no biblical scholar, but I seem to recall Christianity having a few things to say about greed, adultery, honesty, humility and treating other human beings decently.

Apparently, these are now optional extras. The Ten Commandments have become the Ten Suggestions.

How Do You Sell a Conman as a Messiah?

It would appear the clever bit wasn’t convincing people that Trump was a good Christian. It was convincing them that it didn’t matter.

He promised to fight their cultural battles, appoint conservative judges, oppose abortion and protect what they regarded as traditional American values.

In return, they were prepared to overlook almost anything. It was political Christianity rather than Christianity as I understand it.

Jesus preached compassion, forgiveness and helping the poor. Trump offered enemies, revenge, deportations and enormous rallies where everybody could wear matching hats and shout his name.

An unusual interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, I’ll grant you.

But it worked.

Fear is a powerful political weapon. Convince people that their religion, country and way of life are under attack, then present yourself as the only person capable of saving them.

You don’t need to be a saint, you just need to convince people that everyone else is the devil.

Make America Great Again. For Whom?

Then, of course, there is the money.

Behind the great populist circus sits a collection of extraordinarily wealthy individuals with considerable political influence.

And here’s the delicious irony. Populism is sold as a rebellion by ordinary people against powerful elites. Yet some of its biggest financial backers are the very definition of powerful elites.

Billionaires telling working people that billionaires are on their side. It’s rather like being mugged by a millionaire who then persuades you to blame the bloke stacking shelves in Tesco.

What do wealthy political donors stand to gain? How about lower taxes. less regulation and greater influence over government. That’s a good start.

Add to that a political environment less inclined to ask awkward questions about corporate conduct, financial dealings, fraud or corruption. Not every donor has the same motive, of course. But the financial incentives are hardly difficult to spot.

Meanwhile, ordinary voters are encouraged to direct their anger towards immigrants, foreigners, journalists and whichever minority happens to be the villain of the week.

Follow the outrage, and you may miss the money. Follow the money, and things become rather more interesting.

Perhaps the Circus Is Finally Leaving Town

The American midterm results might prove significant well beyond the United States. Because Trump isn’t simply an American phenomenon.

The same political formula has appeared across the world including here in the UK, where Farage is rewarded handsomely for shit stirring.

Find a grievance. Identify an enemy. Invent a golden age. Promise to bring it back.

Throw in a catchy slogan, a few conspiracy theories, some extremely wealthy supporters and a leader who regards every inconvenient fact as a personal insult.

Job done.

The genius of modern populism is that it presents complicated problems as having ridiculously simple solutions.

The tragedy is that people genuinely struggling with the cost of living, declining public services and economic insecurity are often the ones being taken for a ride.

But perhaps the latest American results suggest that the ride is losing some of its appeal. People do eventually notice when the promised golden age fails to arrive.

Particularly when the people promising it are getting richer by the minute via insider training.

And Finally, a Little Divine Intervention?

I hope these elections represent the beginning of the end of a particularly poisonous era of global populism. Not because ordinary people shouldn’t be angry with political establishments. Quite often, they have every reason to be.

But because that anger deserves better than being exploited by wealthy opportunists, political showmen and people who seem to regard accountability as an unfortunate administrative inconvenience.

Perhaps voters are beginning to recognise that the billionaire promising to rescue them from the elites might actually be one of the elites. A quite important detail, you’d have thought.

As for Trump’s extraordinary ability to persuade religious Americans that a man with his personal history was chosen by God, I’m sure psychologists will be studying it for decades.

Cognitive dissonance. Tribal loyalty. Fear. Identity. The power of belonging. It’s a heady mix.

There are probably several fascinating explanations.

But I’m fucked if I know how to sum these morons up.

And perhaps, just perhaps, America is finally beginning to wonder that too.