The author returns to the failure for the Democrats. First, “their leaders have been incapable of resolving the crucial and recurring issue of incarnation. Since the Obama era, they have been lacking a charismatic leader, because they failed to build one or allow one to emerge.” Then, “they failed in their ability to offer a project that responds to citizens’ concerns.”
Romain Goffinet in Sudinfo agrees. “The victory of Donald Trump is above all the defeat of Kamala Harris, who failed to speak to the real America.”
“Millions of voters have made a clear choice,” notes Guillaume Barkhuyzen in L’Avenir. “It is clear that Donald Trump has managed to capture the attention of a deep America which feels threatened in its way of life.”
In L’Echo, Quentin Joris speaks of the coronation of the “pope of populism”, emphasizing that “in a divided America (…) the Manichean businessman has found fertile ground for his message”. “Kamala Harris’s economic record and rational speech could only create an illusion,” he adds.
Barron, Trump’s “little one”, now has the stature to take his place in the family clan. But not like the others
Some also question the attitudes of the next American president, particularly on the international level, agreeing that this election “will leave its mark”. At the level of the global economy, Quentin Joris writes that “there is no point in denying that a storm warning is coming.”
In La Libre, Dorian de Meeûs writes that “this new improbable victory – but without appeal – of Donald Trump plunges Europeans into deep incomprehension”. “How is such a country, a geopolitical giant and world economic leader, no longer capable of electing another president than Donald Trump?”, he adds, pointing to him as a “head of state qualified as a unpredictable and incompetent” and “grotesque”. His populist excesses, his numerous legal troubles and his verbal escalations (…) have pushed all the actors of this campaign into the gutter?
“The leading world power is returning to the hands of an unpredictable, determined, unbridled man, in the midst of global instability. The uncertainty is real,” warns Alexis Carantonis.
Guillaume Barkhuyzen adds that faced with this victory of Donald Trump, “Europe must continue its construction and strengthen its autonomy in all strategic sectors such as the economy, defense or the protection of its citizens” (…) become a Europe truly listens to the expectations of its citizens (…) because in the four corners of the Old Continent, other little Trumps are now awaiting their hour of glory.”
And in Flanders?
Trump is no longer an “accident of history”, believes the editor-in-chief of Standaard, Karel Verhoeven. “For four years, he remained the outsider president, the norm breaker, the uncontrollable projectile. But the time when we could get rid of Trump like the flu is over. The Trump of 2024 has become the system itself. There is no longer any counterbalance from the other powers, and autocracy is therefore looming,” said Mr. Verhoeven. “Europe can no longer be content with just holding on.”
In De Morgen, Bart Eeckhout discusses the consequences of a second Trump term on our part of the world. “The European geopolitical repositioning had to take place anyway. From now on, we must no longer hesitate to invest in it as well,” he maintains.
With Trump in the White House, the economic battle of protectionism, inflation and subsidies will also intensify. This will require even more leadership and attention from the EU on industrial policy, warns Eeckhout. “And even so, the risk of damage and job losses is high. Those who applaud Trump now could later find themselves on the losing side,” he says.
“In the best case scenario, Europe is still riding a little on the already boosted American economy,” analyzes Peter De Groote, editor-in-chief of the economic newspaper De Tijd. “But Trump is likely to reignite the trade war with China with a new round of high tariffs on imports from that country. This could become a particularly painful affair for Europe, which is still on edge. breath following the last discharge.
In Het Laatste Nieuws, political journalist Isolde Van den Eynde compares the fate of the Democrats – losers of the presidential election – to that of the Vivaldi government. Trump voters thought about their wallets. “Is he fuller than four years ago? Noooo!”, replied the billionaire’s supporters. The De Croo government protected the purchasing power of most Belgians. “However, a feeling of unease persists among many,” says the editorialist. “It was by emphasizing prosperity that the N-VA won the elections. As much as Trump’s economic story is hot, Harris’ mayonnaise didn’t take.”
The editor-in-chief of Gazet Van Antwerpen agrees: “The Americans have chosen their portfolio, and we cannot blame them.”
In the columns of Belang Van Limburg, Indra Dewitte headlines “RIP women’s rights”. The editorialist emphasizes the role played by male voters in this presidential election. “Young men, mostly poorly educated – whether white, black or Latino – have put the new president of the United States into the saddle with conviction. Main reason? Fear of their masculinity, the difficulty of “to be ‘just a man’ in this woke world,” she writes.
