Praise for Swift, Disdain for Musk

1.

On September 10, after the first televised debate in the U.S. presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, American pop star Taylor Swift publicly announced her endorsement of Harris for president on her Instagram.

I am not fond of pop music, nor do I care about pop stars, and I’m certainly not a Swiftie. But after this, I now have a new respect for Swift and feel compelled to praise her! In contrast, Elon Musk voiced his continued support for Trump: “…when it comes to getting things done, not just saying nice-sounding words, I strongly believe Trump will do a far better job.”

Compared to Musk’s admiration for Trump, I’m filled with even more love for Swift—even though I used to think highly of Musk and still recognize his irreplaceable contributions to human beings. Years ago, I would frequently say in speeches that the “two horses in China” (Jack Ma of Alibaba and Pony Ma of Tencent) were not even one thousandth as impressive as the “one horse in the U.S.” (Elon Musk) [The three persons’ surnames are the same in Chinese character, meaning horses]. Their respective missions and visions are worlds apart. However, it now seems Musk is missing a fundamental quality: values. This is precisely the shining point I see in Swift—she has the right values.

When Musk stood alongside Trump earlier and showed such servility, I was deeply disappointed and puzzled. His great image in my mind has collapsed instantly! As a leader of technological and industrial revolutions, why would he support a criminal suspect, a shameless liar, and a neurotic dictator? It can only be said that Musk’s views on life, values, and the world are seriously flawed. He praises Trump for his ability to get things done, but if someone lacks the right values, wouldn’t their ability to get things done cause even greater harm?

The difference between Musk and Swift maybe reflects a broader distinction between tech-minded individuals and art-oriented individuals. In China, I’ve noticed that many male tech professionals often appear to be value-free, or their values are completely distorted. This is the inevitable result of prioritizing instrumental rationality over value rationality. Of course, this doesn’t mean that those in the humanities or arts necessarily have better values—plenty of opportunists exist in these fields in China as well. I wonder if most male tech professionals in the United States are like Musk, but I am impressed by the integrity and courage shown by American artists when making political decisions. Back in 2016, dozens of Hollywood artists publicly declared their opposition to Trump, and recently stars like Celine Dion and Beyoncé have also voiced their opposition to him. Swift’s statement is just the latest example. Moreover, beyond these artists, the American academic community has also spoken out, with 16 Nobel laureates in economics recently signing a letter opposing Trump’s reelection. This is something that Chinese artists and scholars should reflect on and learn from.

2.

Why am I against Trump? At its core, it’s because Trump lacks democratic values. His admiration of and praise for modern-day dictators are fatal flaws for a U.S. president.

The distinction between Trump and Biden is precisely about democratic values—or more broadly, about differences in strategy, leadership, and values. These are crucial elements for a U.S. president. Many thought that Biden’s rise to power would benefit U.S.-China relations, but I argued the opposite. Although Trump took a “heavy-handed” approach toward China, he was misguided because he had three fatal flaws:

No strategy—he abandoned Obama’s “Asia Pacific rebalancing strategy” and “Two-Ocean” strategies (TPP and TTIP ).

No leadership—he offended all American allies, including the EU, Canada, and Japan.

No values—he cared only about money, regardless of whether it was from friends or foes. He even wanted to revert the U.S. to isolationism.

In this regard, Trump is not on the same level as Biden at all. When Biden came into office, “America was back,” and within just one or two years, he rebuilt America’s strategies, leadership, and values, restoring the country as a global beacon. This is something Trump could never achieve.

I am not an American voter, and while I’ve long studied political issues, I have no preference between the Democratic and Republican parties. Whoever wins has no personal bearing on me, and a stable two-party system is in the best interest of the United States. I only oppose Trump as an individual, and Trump is an anomaly of the Republicans. His prominence in the GOP is indeed a tragedy—unprecedented in over 200 years of American elections. It’s a product of representative democracy confronting populist challenges in the social media age, highlighting the crisis that the American democratic and party systems towards the information revolution. Figuring out how to solve this crisis and stop the rise of politicians like Trump is a major test for American democracy, and the current efforts to block Trump represent the first step in this test.

It must be admitted that Trump’s competitors are imperfect; some even have disappointing flaws. But anyone taking office would be better than Trump. Likewise, American democracy is imperfect, and the country faces many social problems. But if Trump were to win again and become American “Putin” bent on overturning the democratic system, that would be a far greater disaster.

3.

From the start of this U.S. presidential election, I am not optimistic about Trump. Not because I have any special information or intelligence, nor do I have any supernatural foresight. It’s simply because I believe that the United States, as a mature democracy, has the strength to eliminate a “democracy destroyer” like Trump. Biden’s decision to step down, senior Republicans publicly supporting the Democrats, and Swift’s stepping up—along with the popular slogan from the last election, “Anyone but Trump”—all reflect this strength in some way.

Just as the Biden-Trump contest in 2020 was a battle over values, the Harris-Trump contest today is still a battle over values. In this context, Swift’s support for Harris and Musk’s support for Trump mark a clear divide in values. That’s why I praise Swift and disdain Musk, though I’m not yet saying that Musk is completely devoid of values. I hope Musk will wake up and stand on the right side of history.

I’m betting Harris will win!

(Hu Wei is a renowned Chinese political scientist)