American author Paul Beatty, who won his country its first Man Booker in 2016, called it a “scary time” for America and said that he felt “zero optimism”. His comments come barely a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. "He [Trump] is so incompetent. One doesn't know what he will or will not do,” said Beatty. Beatty's award-winning book, The Sellout, is a satire on contemporary American society.
One of the first things that Trump has done, said Beatty, is to take down pages from the White House website that pertain to climate change and LGBT issues. "It is a small but telling gesture."
When asked about art and the novel, he said there was "no inherent integrity" to art or literature and that "all art was propaganda". Poetry has been used an oppressive tool, he said. In context to his work, he said he was usually exploring his own sense of apathy.
In times of social media, Trump's biography would be titled, 'My Tweet', he said. Beatty said the issue was now about whose country it was. “In the early 20th century, California deported Mexicans and later opened gates for them to come back – a weird kind of schizophrenia and inner dissonance. Such insecurities are voiced everyday. Trump is a mini-diorama in terms of how we see ourselves. He comes across as blatantly fascist, racist and misogynist. He is like a car salesman, like god trying to offer guarantees on certain things.”
