Editorial on the US elections: Moral disarmament is now required

Actually, the Americans are once again offering what they do best, namely exciting entertainment. If Hollywood scriptwriters had to design an election campaign, they could hardly do it better than how it played out in reality. First, Donald Trump is written off. As the bad loser of the last elections, who cannot accept the result and spreads lie after lie. In January 2021, he finally looks like a man of the past.

But then Joe Biden makes what he has done again and again throughout his career: mistakes. From the beginning of his term in office, he, like his Vice President Kamala Harris, underestimated illegal immigration and allowed uncontrolled crowds to cross the border illegally. Then he – of all people as a Vietnam War veteran – screwed up the withdrawal from Afghanistan to such an extent that America embarrassed itself in front of the whole world in a way it hadn’t since the escape from Saigon. Barely a year in office, Joe Biden seems done. But again things turn out differently. Shortly before the midterm elections, Republicans score a victory in the Supreme Court. The judges overturn liberal abortion practices, and conservative states begin to largely ban abortions.

That’s not a good idea, because it will give the Democrats a campaign hit that will help them achieve one of the best midterm election results in recent memory. But this turnaround doesn’t last long either. This is due to “cheaplation”. This phenomenon is why Biden is so unpopular. Not only does everything generally become more expensive under it, the prices for cheap goods also rise much faster than for more expensive versions of the same goods. And it stays that way.

“Cheaplation” punishes those consumers who have little. And there are many. 47 percent of American households have an income of less than $75,000, and blacks have an average income of less than $56,500. These are actually Democratic voters. These are consumers who traditionally use the tactic of switching to cheaper products when inflation occurs in order to save money. But they cannot find any alternatives because of “cheaplation”. An example of the phenomenon is meat. Since 2019, McDonald’s increased the average price of a Big Mac by 21 percent. Hamburgers are the meat of the poor, and there are hardly any cheaper alternatives.

The fact that at the same time the Ukraine war is consuming billions and Biden is increasingly unable to hide the fact that he is too old for his office suddenly gives Trump an almost phenomenal lead. And again the unexpected happens. Biden is withdrawing, and Harris is sparking enthusiasm among Democrats that appears to be carrying her into the White House. Trump only seems “weird” until he manages to convince many people that things were better for them during his presidency than under the Harris/Biden duo. Harris has nothing to counter but horror stories about Trump. The fire of “Yes, We Can” with which Barack Obama thrilled young people in 2008 is missing.

Suddenly everyone is betting on Trump. Shares of its social media platform Truth Social have been rising to unprecedented heights since September in anticipation of another Trump presidency, just like most stocks in the USA. Until five days ago. Suddenly Trump’s money machine runs dry and loses over 40 percent of its value. An indicator that maybe it’s not enough for him? We’ll know next week, hopefully if the legions of lawyers aren’t arguing and demanding endless recounts by then. In the meantime, both sides are painting the apocalypse on the wall if their opponent wins the election.

No matter who wins: it will be close, maybe even by chance. It is to be hoped that rhetorical disarmament will finally begin after the election. The apocalypse is not coming, just as it did not come under the presidencies of the Biden/Harris duo or that of Trump. Trump is neither a fascist nor Harris a communist. And American democracy and its institutions are much stronger than both of them anyway. If there’s one bet to be won, it’s that the world will keep turning after November 5th.

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