The long race

While President Joe Biden has belatedly entered the November race for the White House, his one-term rival Donald Trump has never stopped campaigning for re-election ever since Biden won in 2020.

The majority of US voters do not favour a rematch, but Biden and Trump are the almost certain choices of their parties. Polls show that only 38.3 per cent of voters approve of Biden while 55.5 per cent disapprove and that Trump has a favourable rating of 40.0 per cent and an unfavourable rating of 52.9 per cent.

The two are running neck-and-neck in the race although Trump is ahead in swing states which could determine the Electoral College vote which decides the race. While Biden appears to have been betting on Trump’s multiple court cases to sink his candidacy before November, this is not a certainty and Trump’s legal jeopardy has not discouraged Republican voters who account for 44 per cent of the party’s voters.

Democrats who argue Biden should stand down cite his age, which is 81, and his occasional, all-too-public lapses of memory and his embarrassing going off script in public speeches and press conferences. Biden has also alienated young Democrats and members of his administration by carrying out a chaotic army exit from Afghanistan and encouraging Ukraine to defy Russia by sticking to its demand to join NATO. Biden personally has enraged many by by giving Israel uncritical support in its ongoing assault on Gaza which has killed 23,000 and wounded 60,000 Palestinians. If young Democrats punish Biden by refusing to vote, he could lose the election and his party could be denied majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate. This would give dangerous Trump control over all three branches of government.

Republicans who contend the erratic, chaotic Trump should drop out fear he could face criminal convictions in coming months and/or he could indulge in excesses if he returns to the White House. He has already worried some by declaring he would wreak revenge on political opponents, Justice Department officials, and judges during his first day in office if he wins. This time he is unlikely to appoint to his entourage responsible “adults” who curbed his worst utterances and policies after he took office in 2017.

Incumbent Biden faces no challenges within the Democrat party while Trump is so far ahead in the polls of his Republican rivals that he does not even bother to debate them. Trump’s stubborn denial that he lost the 2020 election although his legal challenges on state level have been rejected has not worried his Republican base. Furthermore, Republican anger has diminished over his instigation of the January 6th, 2021, riot at the Capitol ahead of Congressional confirmation of Biden. This was, and is, seen by many US citizens as a threat to the already faulty US democracy. Respected federal judges and judicial scholars argue that Trump should be disqualified from standing for re-election for violating the third section of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which bars from office anyone for engaging in insurrection. The US Supreme Court, which was packed with conservative judges by Trump, has this week taken up the insurrection issue as applied to Trump.

Why does the US — with a population of 332 million of whom 168 million are registered voters — have to choose between an elderly Biden and a chaotic Trump and why are the two US houses of parliament dominated by reactionaries, nut cases and mediocrities. The Wikipedia list of US presidents covering the last half of the 20th century and first quarter of the 21st century includes only a few who have distinguished themselves. They are Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy (too briefly), and Lyndon Johnson who left office in 1969. Richard Nixon (the first to resign), Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton have been given mixed reviews. George W. Bush was included among the worst of all presidents. A great deal was expected of Barack Obama who did not deliver. Other assessments relegate Donald Trump to the worst grouping and do not credit Biden with being outstanding. He should, however, be given credit for considerable accomplishments on the domestic front. Particularly because he cleared up the messes left by Trump over covid, inflation, and regulation of carbon emissions which cause global warming.

There are many reasons for this situation. Polarisation of the country is the major cause. There is no meeting of minds between Democrats and Republicans, no bipartisanship, no will to work together for the good of the country. The East and West Coasts and northern, southern, and hinterland states have different perceptions of policies and priorities. The lack of a national education system and deterioration of state and community schools is serious factor driving inequality, racism, and alienation. The soaring, criminally high costs of university education have denied study and degrees to many who would qualify for entry but cannot raise the funds to attend. This situation is perpetuated from one generation to the next, creating a mass of discontented people who feel they are excluded from the US democratic system. Consequently, they care little about its survival if Trump — who has autocratic tendencies — is re-elected.

While Biden has preached co-operation and tried bipartisanship with nay-saying Republican lawmakers, Trump has exploited polarisation by courting racism and alienation. His base of voters, perhaps one-third of Republicans, is comprised largely of high and middle school graduates who are resentful of the more educated elites who vote Democrat. This includes larger percentages of university graduates who may secure more lucrative employment than those without degrees. The elite also commands jobs in local, state, and national administrations, education, business, health care, media, as well as a host of enviable professions.

When elected in 2020, Biden promised “America is back:” returned to normal from the disasters created by Trump. If Trump wins in November, he will inflict on the US and the world more problems than the country can resolve which could propel the dissolution of its already flawed democracy. While Biden is a bad bet, Trump is far worse.

Photos: AP