Until the very end, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris conjured up horror scenarios if the other side won. Precisely because the two candidates are practically tied, the fear of fraud and riots is great.
In the presidential election on November 5th, two fundamentally different views about the nature of the USA collide.
Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
For many Americans, Tuesday is not just another presidential election, but rather a fateful crossroads. Until the end, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump were passionately vying for votes as if it were a matter of life and death. On Saturday both appeared in the embattled state of North Carolina. Trump wooed female votes by promising to protect “women in their suburban homes.” He complained that he was no longer even allowed to call women pretty. Harris sharply attacked Trump at her event, describing him as a candidate who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge and consumed by resentment. On Saturday she appeared on the popular TV show “Saturday Night Live,” where she showed a self-deprecating side for once.
Fear of riots
But most opinions are made; 75 million have already cast their votes. That’s almost half of the voters. In the swing state of Georgia, 80 percent have already voted. This continues the trend towards early voting, which has been apparent for some time and intensified with the pandemic. Trump has repeatedly claimed that voting by mail is unsafe.
According to the latest polls, it is still a neck-and-neck race. Only in Iowa does a survey cause a surprise. The state is actually considered to be solidly republican. But now Harris has suddenly taken the lead with 47 percent, while only 44 percent of those surveyed said they would vote for Trump. Analysts are already considering whether this represents a fundamental trend reversal. But the small advantage is in the area of fault tolerance. So you have to be careful not to over-interpret.
On Saturday there were demonstrations across the country for abortion rights and women’s rights in general. In Washington, thousands took part in the National Women’s March. Issues such as abortion, in-vitro fertilization and family policy play an important role in the election campaign, also fueled by Trump’s running mate J. D. Vance, who disparagingly referred to childless women as “cat ladies”.
Also in Washington, Governor Jay Inslee caused a stir when he announced on Saturday that he had put the National Guard on standby due to possible riots in connection with the election. It relies on “general and specific information”. In Washington, among other places, ballot boxes were set on fire a few days ago, which, according to Inslee, damaged or destroyed hundreds of ballots.
This reflects the tense mood in the country, where the election is being portrayed as a decisive battle between good and evil. Many Democrats believe that electing Trump would endanger democracy, while Trump, conversely, is adopting an apocalyptic tone in the event of a Harris victory.
An incomparable, historic election campaign
Without conjuring up the downfall of the USA: The election campaign was actually incomparable, simply because of the fact that Trump was a convicted criminal and Harris was the first non-white woman to run. The TV duel between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump on June 27th will also go down in the history books. Biden appeared so unsteady and senile that in the days after the debate, more and more Democrats called for him to give way to another candidate. But it wasn’t until July 21 that he gave in to pressure, announced his withdrawal from the race and recommended his running mate, Harris, as his replacement. She moved up without a long procedure, collected a record amount of donations within a short period of time and quickly caught up with Trump.
On July 13, there was an attempted assassination attempt on Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shots only injured his ear, but fatally struck a spectator next to him. The Secret Service shot the shooter. The images of Trump covered in blood with his fist raised went around the world. Shortly after the attack, Elon Musk declared his support for Trump, and he has played an important role in the election campaign ever since. On September 15, another assassination attempt occurred while Trump was golfing in West Palm Beach, Florida. However, the shooter was arrested before he could fire a shot.
At the Republican Party Convention in Milwaukee in mid-July, Trump presented his running mate J. D. Vance, who had gone from being a Trump hater to an admirer. A month later, the Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, where Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, a folksy teacher and football coach from Minnesota, made his first major appearance.
On September 10th there was finally a TV debate between Trump and Harris. The vice president went on the attack and provoked Trump into emotional outbursts and baseless claims, such as immigrants from Haiti eating pets. After his poor performance, Trump decided not to take part in another debate.
After a temporary surge from Harris, Trump caught up again. This was all the more remarkable because Trump did not moderate his stance in order to appeal to middle voters, but rather sharpened his tone in recent weeks. At the moment it looks like an extremely close race, which means there is a high risk that the results will be disputed.
