Cheering Americans greet a Trump appearance.Image: keystone
interview
From Europe, the USA looks like a country in perpetual crisis mode. A different picture emerges on site. The political scientist Claudia Brühwiler from St.Gallen explains where Donald Trump actually changed the country.
July 4, 2026, 7:52 p.mJuly 4, 2026, 7:52 p.m
The timing could hardly have been better: While the World Cup is underway in the USA and the national holiday is approaching, Claudia Brühwiler is spending the summer as a visiting researcher at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She experiences a country that celebrates itself – and at the same time argues about itself.
In an interview with “Switzerland Today” she talks about where America is heading, how Donald Trump will be remembered – and about the strangest product with a US flag that she has come across so far.
The United States is celebrating its 250th birthday. How patriotic is the mood in the country?
Claudia Brühlwiler: The mood in the USA is generally always patriotic. There are stars and stripes on everything: chairs, water guns, sweets. My favorite product was a heartburn remedy that said you could celebrate your independence. I think that’s unbeatable.
HSG Professor Claudia Franziska Brühwiler.Image: zvg
The president has been celebrating his 250th anniversary in Washington for weeks. With fights, celebrations and a big rally. How far away are the Wisconsin festivities?
I’m in a very progressive college town. Many people here are at loggerheads with the government. Pensioners regularly stand on busy streets with posters that say: “We celebrate July 4th, you celebrate January 6th” – a reference to the storming of the Capitol. Basically, people just celebrate locally. July 4th is, first of all, a day off. Anyone who knows how few vacation days Americans have understands why that alone is a reason to celebrate. Many simply want to use the summer to escape politics for a moment.
During the rest of the year you hear again and again that the country is more divided than ever before. Is that really the case?
In everyday life, the division is less visible. However, that depends heavily on where you are. In the embattled “Purple States” there are often clear differences between city and country: especially in the countryside, you can still find the natural patriotism that is less present in cities – with fisherman’s and hunter’s clothing, pick-up trucks and T-shirts in the colors of the “Stars and Stripes”.
Trump fans during the US President’s anniversary speech in Washington.Image: keystone
So you can see people’s political beliefs?
Yes, this has always been part of the political culture in the USA. Political beliefs are often shown publicly. Previously with stickers on the car, today more with stickers on the laptop or patches on backpacks and clothing.
How might this divide develop further? Will we only have a battle of radicals in future elections such as the congressional elections in November and the presidential election in two years?
The majority of the population still leans towards the political center. But this is hardly reflected in the political system anymore. The system increasingly rewards those who go to the margins, whether to the left or to the right. If this polarization in the legislature continues to grow, Congress will be even less able to work together.
US President Donald Trump in front of supporters at an anniversary celebration in North Dakota.Image: keystone
Are these extreme candidates capable of winning a majority in a presidential election?
Probably not. If the Democrats want to win national elections with a decidedly left-wing candidacy, while a familiar face like Marco Rubio or JD Vance runs on the Republican side, many voters might say that they don’t particularly like either of them. At the same time, they would probably find the Republican candidates more predictable than a less radical alternative. One has to assume that the Democrats would not win in such a scenario.
How come?
In terms of content, many of the positions of the left wing of the party are not that unusual from a European perspective. What is more irritating is the tone – for example in the thin line between anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism or in the fundamental criticism of America. This can mobilize a protest mood, but is unlikely to be able to gain a majority nationwide. The recent successes of the party left should therefore not be overestimated.
Donald Trump celebrates in North Dakota.Image: keystone
Who would be suitable on the Democratic side to challenge the Trump people?
One of the more moderate governors, such as Josh Shapiro from Pennsylvania or Andy Beshear from Kentucky. Both represent a pragmatic political style and have shown that they can also reach Republican voters.
Donald Trump is fundamentally restructuring America. What’s left of the pre-Trump era today?
I think more than you think at first glance. We often look at Washington and from there draw conclusions about the entire country. America is much more than federal politics. I recently spoke with representatives from various state legislatures – Republicans and Democrats. They agreed: Most decisions are still made by consensus or through compromise. This part of America still exists, even if it is hardly noticed internationally. The institutions have also proven to be surprisingly resilient so far. The Supreme Court continues to assert itself against the President, and there is increasing resistance in Congress to the White House’s extensive claims to power. How profound Trump’s restructuring of the political system actually was can only be assessed with historical distance.
Americans at the big fair in Washington on the occasion of the anniversary.Image: keystone
However, the way political opponents treat each other has changed a lot.
The tone has become brutal, taboos have fallen, and many things that would have ended a political career in the past now have no consequences. The permanent shifting of borders, the spectacle at the expense of human dignity and the constant testing of presidential powers have permanently changed the political culture.
How badly is the relationship between America and Europe currently suffering?
In terms of foreign policy, Trump was more of an accelerator than a trigger. George W. Bush and Barack Obama have already called for Europe to become more independent in terms of security policy. Trump has simply pushed this development forward with greater ruthlessness. He showed Europe that states ultimately follow their interests. This was known in theory for a long time – under Trump it became a political reality.
A negative image of the USA has become established in Europe under Trump. This was also evident in the run-up to the World Cup, when there was great concern that foreign fans could encounter difficulties at the US border or in the country itself. Instead, the host country seems to be having a lively football party. Were the fears unfounded?
To be honest, I never shared those fears. I think many are experiencing a different America than the one we see in the headlines. The reporting inevitably focuses on Donald Trump and the major political conflicts. This is likely to be an important experience for many Europeans who traveled to the USA for the World Cup and also got to know regions outside of the classic tourist destinations. You notice that the reality on site is more complex than the image that emerges from a distance. America is more than Trump – just like Switzerland is not just banks and mountains.
The Great American State Fair, a kind of anniversary celebration, with a replica of Trump’s triumphal arch in the heart of Washington.Image: keystone
On social media, European fans enthusiastically share their American finds, including US supermarkets like Costco and Walmart, barbecue, or the latest hit for Europeans: ranch sauce.
I think it’s also good for Americans to see their country through the eyes of guests. Everyone is happy when others appreciate their own country. We Swiss know it the same way: Of course we groan when tourists crowd onto the Chapel Bridge. At the same time, it makes us a little proud when people enjoy coming to visit and are excited to go home. The Americans are no different.
What are we missing in Europe with all the negative headlines about the USA?
I am always surprised by the friendliness of people. Many Europeans consider them superficial, but I often find them sincere and, above all, pleasant. It’s natural to strike up a conversation at the supermarket checkout or in a café, even with complete strangers. You learn something about the region, about the lives of the people – or sometimes simply which product is particularly popular at the moment.
USA fans pay homage to the 250th birthday on horseback.Image: keystone
Donald Trump is visibly working on his legacy: his portrait is to appear on banknotes, he is portraying himself as a peacemaker, and an airport in Florida is to bear his name. What will the 47th president be remembered for?
That depends heavily on the time interval – and what happens afterwards. George W. Bush is a good example of this. During his term in office, much of the talk in Europe was about the Iraq War, his rhetorical weaknesses and his alleged lack of intelligence. Today the assessment, even among many Democrats, is much more differentiated. The Iraq war remains a grave mistake. At the same time, the scale has shifted. It will be similar with Donald Trump. Some historians like Niall Ferguson are already calling him a transformative president. Others rightly ask how much of his political legacy will actually endure and how much can be reversed. I believe Trump will be remembered above all as a symbol of a profound shift in the American political system: as the president of a time of growing disillusionment with democracy and the economy and of a global shift in US power.
Do you think Trump was the start of a major shift in US politics or was he more of an outlier?
In terms of domestic policy, Trump has primarily made fault lines visible that have existed for a long time. He has brought conflicts to the surface that could previously have been covered up. How this will develop is much more difficult to predict. That ultimately depends on which political alternatives become established after Trump.
The Trump administration is trying to erase all dark stains from US history. Books are banned, exhibitions in museums are changed. Will the president succeed?
No. Such conflicts are part of the American culture war and return again and again in waves. At its core, it’s about the question of what image of history the USA wants to have of itself: How do you tell your own story when it includes the idea of freedom and the constitution as well as slavery, the expulsion of native peoples and other crimes? Trump conducts this conflict in a particularly strident and confrontational way. But he didn’t invent it. I therefore do not believe that his view will prevail in the long term. The pendulum is more likely to move again towards a more balanced culture of remembrance.
How will you celebrate US Independence Day?
Completely calm. I’m going to try to see a bald eagle, the emblem of the USA, with my sons on the Mississippi River. (schweiztoday.ch)