Chethana Janith, Jadetimes Staff
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter covering science and geopolitics.
The confrontation between Harris and Trump is proof that America has lost its way.
America is about to hold its 60th presidential election. The press is closely following the presidential race and regularly conducts opinion polls. It is already safe to say that Kamala Harris is beginning to take the lead over Donald Trump.
However, a number of newspapers admit that things are not so rosy for the Democratic Party. On 1 September 2024, the New York Times reported the conclusion of a campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon: “We’re Still “Clear Underdogs” In 2024 Race”.
John Gray, a columnist for the British magazine New Statesman, has written several articles in which he has commented frankly on all that is happening: “The US political system is in the throes of an acute and far-reaching crisis, and Western political scientists have even begun to draw parallels with the last years of the former USSR. In important respects, the US is no longer a functioning liberal democracy. Democratic government only works when rivals for power agree to submit to the winner. In the US, Gray argues, both parties now see the presidential contest as an existential battle that will determine the future of the American republic.
Why is the debate dividing America?
The debate between the two presidential candidates D. Trump and K. Harris on 10 september was a kind of proof of this conclusion, especially given the ferocity of their arguments. According to an almost unanimous media consensus, Harris went on the offensive and forced Trump onto the defensive. According to CNN, 63% of respondents favoured Harris and only 37% favoured Trump. Even the Republican Fox News conceded victory to K. Harris.
The candidates quickly moved on to controversial issues ranging from migration and fracking to Israel’s war on Gaza.
Harris accused Trump of being prepared to withdraw US support for Ukraine to “curry favour” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Harris “hates” Israel and that her presidency would lead to Israel’s collapse. The candidates also sparred over abortion rights, immigration and several other issues.
The debate took place in Pennsylvania, which is one of the largest sites for fracking gas production. But fracking is bad for people, the environment and the climate. According to a Pennsylvania state representative, the debate showed that neither side has concrete ideas and political power to address the problems associated with fracking, i.e. its impact on the environment and human health.
In a Pew Research Centre poll released on 9 September, 81% of registered voters said the economy was “very important” to their vote, and that’s 16 points higher than the proportion who said the same about healthcare.
While Trump has enormous political baggage and is unpopular with some segments of the American electorate, the Republican nominee is consistently seen as more credible on economic issues than Harris and President Biden, under whom she served as vice president for nearly four years.
The current election campaign shows that, regardless of the outcome, power in America will forever remain in the hands of the rich, the biggest monopolies. In the last few days alone, Trump has received $24.4 million from billionaires for his campaign and Harris has received $12.8 million.
Americans realise their home is in danger
A poll conducted by the New York Times and Siena College on 7-8 September found that 60% of likely voters said: America is on the wrong track.
Presidential debates don’t always change voters’ minds, but they can change the dynamics of a race: Biden’s poor performance against Trump forced him to withdraw from the race.
In a contest that could come down to tens of thousands of votes in a few states, even a small shift in public opinion can change the outcome. An endorsement of Kamala Harris by popular singer Taylor Swift would certainly make a difference.
Admittedly, the current agitated state of domestic political life is also being seriously debated by American political scientists, who are aware that some, sometimes radical, action is needed to rectify the unhealthy situation prevailing in America.
The conservative Heritage Foundation has drawn up a comprehensive action programme for the next Republican president. High on the agenda is the promotion of Christian values based on American nationalism and the greatness of the United States. The 900-page report, “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise” proposes radical changes to rapidly (within 180 days) reform the US system of government. Its aim is to consolidate presidential power and create a rigid power vertical.
The authors of the report suggest striking a blow against the irremovable Washington federal bureaucracy – professionals who hold their positions for life and retain them when the administration changes. It would also expand the range of administration officials appointed or fired by the president.
The draft contains a provision on tougher immigration control, the rejection of a number of international agreements, and a course on green energy.
Noteworthy is the assessment of the debate by Elon Musk, who, while acknowledging Harris’ victory, said that the leading battles on 10 September were unfair to Trump: Kamala Harris did exceed most people’s expectations, however, in terms of actual deeds, not just pretty-sounding words, “I still think Trump will “do a far better job”. According to Musk, there will be no more US presidential elections if Trump loses.
Commenting on the debate between the US presidential candidates, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that both politicians were talking about the wrong things. In her opinion, they should have discussed only the fact that the United States has robbed the whole world because its national debt is growing by tens of millions of dollars every day. She is sure that the United States will never pay off its debt. She noted that the whole world looks at how much Washington owes them, knowing that the money will never be repaid.
An essential element of the responses to the debate between US presidential candidates D. Trump and K. Harris in a number of newspapers in the Global South is the thesis – “both are worse”.
Kim Dotcom, founder of the Megaupload and Mega file-sharing sites, wrote on the X network: The debate between US presidential candidates D. Trump and K. Harris has been won by the intergovernmental institution created in 2006, BRICS.
