Donald Trump, symptom of popular concerns. Editorial

It was not Donald Trump’s victory that surprised us at dawn on Wednesday, but its scale. This time we will avoid recounts and protests. The billionaire wins both the electors and the popular vote. A first for him.

The Democrats’ mistakes were numerous in this campaign, from lies about Biden’s health to Kamala Harris’ inability to clearly define her political line. But Trump’s power of attraction, particularly among the working classes, remains impressive.

What will his second presidency look like? With the unpredictable New Yorker, anything remains possible, including the worst. His team will also be more Trumpist than in 2016, the vice-president then coming from the traditional wing of the Republicans. In addition to his running mate JD Vance, the anti-system Robert Kennedy Jr. and the anti-official Elon Musk should soon support him.

Nothing reassuring

For what result? A more authoritarian presidency, an even more divided America and further setbacks on abortion rights and the environment? Progress on the international level, after a Joe Biden powerless to stop the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East?

Nothing very reassuring looms with such a character. But his clear victory shows to what extent the American left has gone astray by treating with contempt the central themes for the electorate: massive immigration, the cost of living, delinquency.

A lesson for the Democratic Party, of course. But also in Europe, where the political class too often holds its nose when these themes are discussed. The United States’ vote proves it: people’s concerns are only ignored to their detriment.

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