The Dramatic US Presidential Election
The upcoming Tuesday’s American presidential election is only certain in terms of its date, but the outcome is a 50:50 chance. Everything else remains a matter of speculation, including when Americans will find out the election result due to the catastrophic state of democracy America finds itself in, not long ago being an active exporter of “democracy” worldwide. Today, Donald Trump is much closer to power than, for example, Hitler was before becoming the German chancellor in 1933. The outcome of these elections will be a turning point in both American and world history.
Trump’s Potential Response to Defeat
In the event of Trump’s defeat, he may repeat the rhetoric of “stolen elections” like in 2020 and incite his supporters to take to the streets and to the Capitol. Before this, the Republican Party, with the aim of sowing doubt about fair elections, has filed more than 139 legal disputes against election laws in two-thirds of American states. Another concern is how American citizens will decide or find themselves in front of the ballot boxes after an unusual election campaign, where, as the American atomic scientists’ publication writes, they witnessed a political tornado of bizarre personally incriminating accusations between the two rivals, two assassination attempts on Trump, and a “last-minute” replacement of the Democratic Party’s candidate.
Low Voter Turnout in the US
In the end, it will not be the majority of voters who will decide by casting their votes for a candidate on the first Tuesday in November, but rather another majority in the constitutionally anachronistic electoral college. Let’s remember that in 2013, Hillary Clinton received over three million votes more than Trump, yet Trump won in the end. This says a lot about the existing reality of American democracy.
Will American voters find it easier to decide when the difference between the candidates could not be greater? Choosing between a 78-year-old white candidate from New York and Florida who advocates autocracy and admires autocrats around the world, and a 60-year-old woman from California who at least in principle defends democratic values, gender and ethno-cultural diversity, and Biden’s political legacy? American democracy is in poor shape, as this country ranks among developed countries with the lowest voter turnout. This relevant fact does not support the opportunity for the election campaign to focus on current and future existential threats to human civilization, such as climate change, nuclear issues, disruptive technologies, and others, especially the exponentially growing social and economic inequalities in American society.
Trump’s Authoritarian Tendencies
Donald Trump is the first presidential candidate in American history who has not admitted defeat in elections. He has attempted to change electoral results through violence and illegal means. Before the current elections, Trump openly announced that he would abolish democracy by acting as a dictator on the first day of his presidency, while also refusing to answer whether he would react similarly to four years ago in case of defeat against Harris. He also announced that after winning, he would criminally prosecute his political opponents, including Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired General Mark Milley, former Chief of Staff to Trump, also retired General John Kelly, and others.
Trump’s political rhetoric is not limited to the Western world or Europe, but it has also been practiced by Mao Zedong and Pol Pot. Trump and Vance include the Nazi racial criterion of “blood and soil” in their political speeches. Often, he was not even kind to legal migrants, where he surely did not have his father or former and current wife in mind. And finally, what would the former American indigenous peoples say about “legal” and “illegal” migrants?
The Rise of Authoritarian Voices
As we can see, many populist and authoritarian voices are echoing not only on the other side of the Atlantic but also in Europe, including Slovenia, which rely too much on the United States for their security, as warned by the Washington Post.
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Rudi Rizman, sociologist and political scientist, professor at the University of Ljubljana.
The contribution reflects the author’s opinion and does not necessarily represent the views of the editorial staff.