The United States is in a state of anticipation for the upcoming elections (French)
Awaiting the decisive date for the presidential elections next November, the United States is living in a state of anticipation and fear regarding the atmosphere accompanying these elections, which observers have described as fraught with many risks, and that they are not like previous electoral elections.
In this report, we discuss a number of reports and positions reported by the French press during the recent period regarding their analysis of the most prominent concerns that may be involved in the American elections.
Between Biden and Trump
The first source of this fear is due to the possibility of repeating the scenario of the electoral race in 2020 between current President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, who are two controversial candidates in terms of personality and positions.
Biden's old age and health condition raise concerns (French)
Biden's aging
On the one hand, President Biden's advanced age raises concerns at home and abroad, as he is the oldest president the United States has ever known, and he will turn 81 next November.
According to a poll previously published by the French magazine Le Point, 77% of voters consider Biden too old to be able to run the country until January 2029 and fear such an outcome.
The magazine's editorial commented that "American democracy has turned into gerontocracy, and that aging sometimes brings wisdom to political leaders, but it is also synonymous with hesitation and fragility."
For its part, Le Monde newspaper commented in an editorial that “the danger that threatens to weaken Joe Biden, the candidate for re-election in 2024, is none other than Joe Biden himself,” and indicated that, at the age of 80, the oldest president in the history of the United States realizes that the slightest weakness in public performance It will now become the subject of extensive comments.
Accordingly, Biden's old age also raises external concerns among his allies, especially the Europeans, as Europe - more than ever since the end of the Cold War - relies on Washington and its security umbrella to confront the Russian threat.
Trump pledged to eliminate communists, Marxists and leftists (French)
Trump's character
On the other hand, Trump's personality is also a cause for concern, especially since his political positions - as a former president of the United States - are not alien to internal and external public opinion.
Sylvie Laurent, a professor at the Institute of Political Sciences in Paris, believes that the problem is not with Trump, but with the entire ruling system.
In an interview with the French website Media Part on February 1, the American affairs specialist stressed, “The question we must ask is: What about the rule of law in a country that has been torn apart by social inequalities for a long time?”
She adds, "Hence, the danger does not lie in Donald Trump being a dictator, but rather in democracy choosing Donald Trump," explaining that the American judicial arsenal has not yet succeeded in curbing Trump's political ambitions.
The result is that the door is open to all transgressions in rhetoric and practice, which is reflected in Trump's most fiery and offensive statements against his opponents.
As an example, he stated during his campaign in New Hampshire in November 2023, “We are committed to eliminating the Marxist communists and far-left thugs who live like vermin, even within our borders. They lie, steal, and cheat. And in elections, they are ready for anything.” They are willing to do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and the American dream.”
He added in his speech, "The real threat does not lie with the extreme right. The real threat is the radical left, and this threat is increasing every day. The threat from external forces is much less deadly and dangerous than the threat from within."
Tendency to political violence
Such populist rhetoric has found supporters in American society, especially those who defend the right to own weapons for self-defense and to confront internal threats, which is what the arms lobby companies rooted in the United States stand behind.
Also, the idea of giving a political role to former soldiers and officers who practiced military life appeals to many, including Matthias Lieber, a former soldier in Bosnia and a candidate for the South Carolina State Senate next June, who raises the slogan: “We have enough parliamentarians and lawyers in "South Carolina, we need a few more paratroopers."
Trump's supporters also did not hesitate to use violence against their political opponents or against state institutions, and the scenes of storming the US House of Representatives (Capitol) building on January 6, 2021 are not far away.
Which led to the disruption of a joint session of Congress to count the electoral votes and formalize Joe Biden’s electoral victory, and in its other dimension, it contributed to the shaking of the image of the United States abroad, after it had been presented as a model of democracy in the world.
It is an indication that a segment of American public opinion no longer pays much attention to foreign policy, but rather focuses its priorities on internal issues and concerns, most notably improving the financial situation of social groups and achieving well-being.
A demonstration in New York in support of Gaza and the Palestinian people (Anatolia)
Calls for peace
In contrast to the tendency for internal political violence, there is a tendency that calls for peace and avoidance of support and participation in wars abroad.
Its most prominent manifestations are the huge marches that have not stopped for months inside and outside the United States, in protest against the massive support provided by Washington to Israel in its war on Gaza.
There was also a scene of protest by some attendees at President Biden's meeting on January 8 with an audience in a church in South Carolina, where the protesters demanded a ceasefire, raising the slogan "Your hands are stained with this blood" while Biden spoke about racism, Trump, and the dangers that threaten democracy. American.
Commenting on this event, Sylvie Laurent said in the same interview with Media Part, “It is a devastating situation... I just remind you that, contrary to popular belief, this is not a small extremist group from the Democratic Party. The progressives and liberals who are demanding a ceasefire in Gaza constitute 60 "% of Americans. Nearly 80% are Democrats and half are Republicans. Therefore, Biden is ruling against the majority opinion in his country."
She added that the second issue is that it is a meaningless, inaudible speech, as it addresses an audience in South Carolina, and part of its voters are African Americans who are historically connected to the history of civil rights, and to the idea that the Democratic Party is the party of liberation and justice. He comes to give them a speech centered around: If you do not vote for me, injustice and violence await you, at a time when American bombs are killing children every day in Gaza.
Culture war
With the economic and social crises in American society, a state of ideological polarization has emerged between two trends with deep differences: a “conservative” trend, often represented by Republicans, and a “liberal” trend, which is usually described by the Democratic Party.
Each trend seeks to impose its views and perceptions on societal issues related to the issue of values, and the result is a state of severe societal division.
A Le Monde Delomatic report last January on the US elections stated, “According to Republicans, this culture war will be at the heart of the upcoming presidential elections.”
The newspaper conveyed the concerns of a segment of voters such as Bonnie Cleveland, the psychologist who was fired from her position as director of school health in Charleston County, who says that if Republicans want to create authoritarian rule, they will already know how to get there.
With the launch of the presidential election campaign, a wave of tension is rising between advocates of preserving the Christian religious national identity in light of a deflationary, isolationist tendency, versus advocates of maintaining the United States as a superpower with influence in the world with a “liberal” tendency that is not committed to religious values.
What deepens the state of tension is the feeling of injustice among social groups exhausted by encroaching capitalism, especially among African Americans, some of whom were disappointed with Biden’s policy, as stated in a report by Le Monde Diplomatique.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites