After the Midterm Elections, the Real Political Struggle Still Lies Ahead
In this essay, Slavoj Žižek argues that the relief after the U.S. midterm elections may be premature. While Trump’s defeat appears to have restored political normalcy, the deeper conflicts that made his rise possible remain unresolved. The piece revisits Žižek’s earlier remarks on Trump, explains why Trump becomes a kind of political fetish in liberal discourse, and suggests that this fixation can obscure the underlying issue of class struggle. Rather than seeing Trump as the sole problem, the article argues that liberal failures helped create the space for his brand of populism.
Why the post-election relief may be misleading
Žižek opens by challenging the sense of victory after the midterm elections. Even if Trump lost and accepted the result, the broader political tensions that fueled his rise are still present.
Trump as a political fetish
The essay uses psychoanalytic language to describe Trump as a fetishized figure for liberals. In this framing, Trump becomes the object that absorbs fear and attention, preventing a fuller confrontation with deeper social contradictions.
The hidden issue: class struggle
Žižek argues that the obsession with Trump can function as a distraction from class conflict. The liberal focus on Trump, he suggests, can obscure the failures and blind spots that helped create the conditions for populist politics.
Key takeaways
- Midterm results may calm the surface of politics without resolving deeper conflicts.
- Trump is presented as a figure that concentrates liberal anxiety and attention.
- The essay argues that liberal criticism of Trump can distract from class struggle.
- Žižek suggests that political failures on the liberal side helped open space for Trump-style populism.
Source: Slavoj Žižek, “AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS: THE TRUE STRUGGLE LIES AHEAD,” published on Substack on 2026-11-07. Original: https://slavoj.substack.com/p/after-midterm-elections-the-true Read the original post on Substack.