The American dream is widely recognized as denoting equal opportunity for everyone to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative. There is no doubt the United States remains the world’s strongest economic and military power and that the global population looks up to the country as a champion of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

But little by little, belief in this American dream has started to crumble, and Trump’s presidency from 2017 to 2021 was responsible for a large part of the deterioration of democratic norms.

A paper published in The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science argues that Trump undermined faith in elections, encouraged political violence, vilified the mainstream media, positioned himself as a law-and-order strongman challenging immigrants and suppressing protests and refused to denounce support from far-right groups.

The attempted assassination of Trump last week was, to some extent, unsurprising, given that political violence is all but ingrained in the US. It’s worth noting that Trump is an advocate for the very type of gun policy that allowed Thomas Mathew Crooks to make the attempt on his life.

When president Ronald Reagan escaped an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. in 1981, the then-president seized the opportunity to rally Americans to unite to build a better nation. But this act of statesmanship is unlikely to be repeated in today’s divided US.

Trump’s supporters, even his running mate Ohio Senator JD Vance, were quick to criticize President Joe Biden for what they claimed was his failure to ensure Trump’s safety. After condemning the Saturday attack, Biden called Trump and told his opponent that he was in he and his wife’s prayers.

The shooting has strengthened Trump’s lead over Biden ahead of the November polls, and Trump was a clear frontrunner even before the assassination attempt.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey published on Tuesday found that 80 percent of voters, both Republican and Democrat, agreed with the statement that the US “is spiraling out the control”. Some 84 percent of them said they were concerned that extremists would commit acts of violence after the election.

Another poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute last autumn found that 23 percent of Americans agreed with the statement “American patriots may have to resort to violence in order to save the country”, including 33 percent of Republicans and 13 percent of Democrats.

Trump, who still insists that his 2020 loss to Biden was a result of the Democrats manipulating the election, said in a recent interview that he would only recognize the results of the November election if he did not see any irregularities.

If he wins, Trump will be the first convicted American president to govern. In May, a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex. Trump’s sentencing is expected in September.

The US, long a beacon of democracy, has been gradually losing its glow, and there are no alternatives that could convincingly fill its shoes. Countries will have to find their own ways to plug the huge gap left by the US’ declining power.

Like other countries, Indonesia must be prepared to face the US under Trump for the next four years, until 2028. The world will be plagued by more uncertainty, but we have no choice but to live with that. The good news is that we know at least some of what to expect, having endured Trump’s first presidency.