Donald Trump's MAGA Movement: Clash of Civilizations: Leading Towards Racism

  

Donald trump's MAGA Movement and Clash of Civilizations: Leading towards Racism

The MAGA movement was first launched by Ronald Reagan as a campaign slogan in his 1980 presidential campaign (Let's Make America Great Again). In recent years, this movement and slogan, "Make America Great Again" (MAGA), have been popularized by President Donald Trump during his successful presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2024. It was the belief of the supporters of the movement that before foreign influence, i.e., immigration, multiculturalism, globalization, and merger of multiple economies, America was a "great” country. Trump also believes that the United States can become a great country again only by adopting “America First” policies.

Now Hungary has adopted this slogan, but with different words as "MEGA—Make Europe Great Again,” as the new motto for the EU presidency. It means that “to become great again” will now flourish in Europe after America. It seems that MAGA is reshaping the theory of the “Clash of Civilizations." Some of the political scientists consider it as dog whistle politics. Is Donald Trump's movement "MAGA" a new adoption of clash of civilizations that may lead towards racism? We will have to consider this question.

Points To Discuss

We will discuss this topic on the following points:

•  Origin of MAGA movement in America

•  Understanding of MAGA

•  Clash of civilization and MAGA movement

•  Steps taken in January 2025

•  MAGA movement and Media

•  Conclusion

Origin of MAGA movement:

After Ronald Reagan, the phrase was used by Donald Trump, reportedly in November 2012, just after the Republican presidential candidate was defeated by Barack Obama. On June 16, 2015, when Trump declared his candidacy as the 2016 Republican presidential nomination for first term. This is considered the date for the beginning of the MAGA movement. This slogan rapidly attracted white working-class voters. To its supporters, MAGA represents a call to restore American prosperity, security, and cultural identity. During the campaign of the 2016 elections, political scientists, journalists, main stream media, and even political opponents did not pay any heed to the rhetoric. They considered that Trump was a weak candidate. But the results of the elections surprised not only all of them but also the whole world.

During the election campaign of 2024, Trump again adopted the same slogan. He raised the slogan, “We will make America strong AGAIN, we will make America proud AGAIN, we will make America safe AGAIN, and WE WILL MAKE America GREAT AGAIN!” He used to wear a red cap on which the slogan "MAGA—Make America Great Again” was written. Rather, he called it “MAGA 2.0." Again, it worked, and he became president for the term 2024 to 202028.

Understanding of MAGA:

To understand the MAGA movement, the following points should be kept in mind:

1. Protection of American Values.

2. Policy of “America First.”

3. Preservation of culture.

4. Defense against external threats on the cultural front.

5. Fear of immigrants, especially non-white immigrants.

6. Fear of globalization.

The supporters of the MAGA movement refer to preservation of culture and defense against external threats like immigration, globalization, and multiculturalism. This clearly shows their mentality of “Us vs. Them.”.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, in addition to its political stances, the MAGA movement is known for its particularly combative character, which exemplifies the extreme partisanship of contemporary American politics. In keeping with that stance, controversial rhetoric has flourished within the movement, including messages that critics see as homophobic, sexist, or racist or as inciting violence.

Clash of Civilizations and MAGA Movement:

Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington introduced the theory of the “Clash of Civilizations." According to this political theory, in the future the source of conflicts and wars would be fought on the basis of cultures and civilizations and not on the basis of racial and economic basis. In recent years, Minhaz Merchant put forward a theory that “the new clash of civilizations offers deep and stimulating insights into how the contest between the four major civilizations, i.e., the United States, China, India, and Islam, will shape our country.”

Now look at steps taken by Trump just after he assumed the office of president in 2017. For his whole term, Trump, to fulfill his promises, used “executive orders.". After about one week of his step into the White House, he signed an executive order, through which he banned immigration to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries, followed by a second ban in the coming months. A ban was also imposed on immigrants from North Korea and Venezuela. In January 2017, Trump also issued an order for the construction of a wall or fence with the border of Mexico. In 2018, Trump began leveling tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, the European Union, and China. These steps clearly show the conflict between different civilizations.

Steps taken in January 2025:

On January 20, 2025, while addressing his inaugural address, President Trump said that it was the start of the “golden age of America." He also announced his priorities like immigration, trade, and national security.

He took the following steps in the first week of his second term:

1. On first day, he ordered redefining the 14th Amendment’s grant of citizenship to anyone born in the U.S

2. During the first week, he issued eight executive orders about immigration, four about DEI.

3. Foreign policy front and end of wars.

4. He addressed the World Economic Forum and told the business community to make their products in the USA or to pay very high tariffs.

5. By the end of the first week, he also ordered to freeze almost all foreign aid.

The plans of the Trump administration are very obvious about Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, and Greenland. Mexico refused to provide landing rights to US military planes loaded with deportees.

All the above-stated steps clearly show that Trump wants to work as a MAGA movement during his second term.

MAGA movement and media:

The majority of the followers of the MAGA movement consider that main stream media is biased against the movement, lying on behalf of the enemies of the movement. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, this belief has resulted in a vulnerability among MAGA members to false news stories and particularly far-fetched conspiracy theories circulated by MAGA-supporting media outlets and repeated by MAGA leaders. Examples include charges that Democratic former president Barack Obama is not a native-born U.S. citizen and that Democrats’ immigration policies aim to replace white Americans with non-white immigrants.

The movement was mainly spread by social media. Even now the MAGA is widely and vehemently supported on social media platform X (former Twitter).

Conclusion:

It is evident from the above discussion that the slogan and movement “Make America Great Again” have become powerful symbols of cultural and ideological conflict in contemporary America. Although it may restore national pride, its implications to enhance clashes of civilizations and racism are very intense and far-reaching. America, being a superpower, should take solid steps to minimize such effects. Now it is the need of the hour that we, the people of this world, should think and start a movement, “Make Mankind Great Again.”

 

FAQS:

Q. No. 1: What MAGA stands for?

Ans: It stands for “Make America Great Again.”

Q. No. 2: What is “MEGA”?

Ans: MEGA stands for “Make Europe Great Again.”

Q. No. 3: Who first launched the MAGA movement and slogan in America?

Ans: The MAGA movement was first launched by Ronald Reagan as a campaign slogan in his 1980 presidential campaign (Let's Make America Great Again).