A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0

The article explores the critical reactions to the two Trump administrations and the concept of "post-truth" in the political landscape. During the first term, there was a wave of liberal anxiety about the fate of objective knowledge, particularly with the rise of "fake news" and "alternative facts." The article suggests that this "truth panic" had the unintended consequence of emboldening those it sought to oppose, as Trump and his supporters dismissed unfavorable facts as "fake." The second term has led to claims that we are living in a "world-historical age of stupid," accelerated by the impact of big tech. The article references the philosopher Hannah Arendt's observation that the ideal subject of totalitarian rule is one for whom the distinction between fact and fiction no longer exists. The article concludes by suggesting that there may be a way out of this epistemic breakdown, though it does not provide a clear solution.