It's the election of all superlatives : 244 million voters mobilized, of whom nearly 80 million have already expressed themselves by voting early or by mail. 538 electors to be designated, but also 435 deputy seats, for the House of Representatives, a third of the American Senate, 34 seats to be renewed. And a final result which risks being decided by only a few tens of thousands of votes. So yes, from Brussels, but also from Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, kyiv, Gaza, Bamako, Kinshasa, Hanoi, Lima, everyone has their eyes on the United States. Everyone holds their breath. The America of Donald Trump and the America of Kamala Harris are not the same thing.
On one side, the current Democratic vice-president, who in July replaced Joe Biden whose campaign was slipping. Kamala Harris, 60, can become on Tuesday the first woman to lead the largest economic and military power on the planet. With the handicap of having entered the battlefield late, she reinvigorated the Democratic camp thanks to a televised debate which confirmed that she had presidential staturebut it suffers from an overall lack of notoriety.
Facing her, former President Donald Trump, 78, author of a spectacular political comeback after leaving the White House in 2021. A miracle candidate in every sense of the word. He escaped two impeachment proceedings, but was convicted in court. He also survived two assassination attempts, including a particularly spectacular one in the middle of a meeting, with a bullet that grazed his ear.” We've been waiting for this for four years. Four years! “, Donald Trump said last night during his penultimate meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, before launching into new diatribes against migrants, the media and the Democrats, whom he accuses of wanting to rig the elections.
“The momentum is on our side“, affirmed Kamala Harris, also in Pittsburgh, after having participated in a door-to-door session and before a final meeting in Philadelphia, the city which saw the birth of American democracy. A few hours later, it was TV host Oprah Winfrey who gave him her support.
In this campaign, we no longer count the insults, the lies, the crude manipulations…migrants who would eat cats and dogs, an election that would inevitably be rigged if he lost. Donald Trump is the candidate of all excesses. Beyond his lawless ways, which challenge us and seem so unworthy of a head of state, it is the program of Donald Trump, and that of Kamala Harris, which must also question us.
For Trump, it is quite clear: it would be a return to isolationism. An America that would turn in on itself and stop caring about the rest of the world. From this point of view, he returns to the fundamentals of the republican movement throughout history. For Kamala Harris, it is less obvious, as the electoral campaign is played out on domestic political issues. We can imagine that the America of Kamala Harris would be more involved in NATO and in the defense of Europe than the America of Trump, which would not be without consequences for what is happening in Ukraine. Both have not been very precise about their attitude towards the Middle East. “With me there would be no war”, fanfaronne Trump. “I undertake to do everything to obtain peace in the Middle East”said Kamala Harris a little belatedly. If the United States is no longer the world's policeman (or no longer want to be) and have to deal with China, Russia, India and other emerging powers, their voice still carries. Which makes these elections an issue for America, but also for the world.
Last night, US intelligence services accused Russia of being “actively” involved in disinformation operations in the “Swing States”, with attempts at destabilization which could encourage the passage to violence of certain Americans. Particularly with a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant possessing several Georgian identity cards and claiming to have voted several times. The FBI and the US cybersecurity agency have confirmed that “Russian agents of influence had fabricated” this video.
This affair is a summary of the challenges facing the United States and the planet. The fear of migrants, used as a foil, the manipulation of public opinion through bogus information, the unfiltered sounding board of social networks, foreign interference to destabilize a State, withdrawal into oneself or the pursuit of an interconnected world. And this observation that makes us feel sick: democracies, which for two hundred years have been thought to be the most accomplished and fair form of political organization, are proving fragile. Danger can come from both the outside and the inside. This is true for the United States. This is also true for our European states.
Fabrice Grosfilley
