The election is effectively a vote for Trump

Donald Trump
A fact that should worry Kamala Harris

Wolfgang Hansson

This is a commenting text. Analysis and positions are the writer's.

Updated 22.47 | Published 22.42

 
Quick version

• Despite Trump's 2021 coup attempt and legal troubles, including a sexual assault conviction, he remains a significant candidate in the presidential race. This raises questions about Kamala Harris' ability to attract voters.
• Kamala Harris's campaign focuses on portraying Trump as a danger to democracy but is struggling to boost her own popularity. However, well-known Republicans are backing her in an effort to stop Trump.
•  The election is perceived as a referendum on Trump, and Harris appears as a weak alternative, whose greatest strength is preventing another Trump term. Trump's clear agenda attracts many voters concerned about economic issues and immigration.

Kamala Harris. Photo: Jerker Ivarsson

ATLANTA, GEORGIA. Newspapers and television here in the USA are filled daily with new opinion polls that all show how incredibly even it is right down to the finish line.

But few ask the obvious question.

How can Trump even compete for the presidency given his 2021 coup attempt and other piano stomping?

That should worry Kamala Harris.

For me, who has lived a lot in the USA, it seems very strange that a candidate who is suspected of a series of serious crimes against the democratic rules of the game can compete for the voters' favor at all.

Donald Trump is also convicted of sexual assault. He is convicted of fraud with the purpose of concealing from voters that he had an affair with a porn star.

His behavior at election meetings and in interviews is characterized by rudeness, lies and exaggerations.

The latest frog was when he said he intended to "protect women whether they want it or not".

He calls Kamala Harris "sick" and "mentally disabled". Imagine that Magdalena Andersson would use such expressions about Ulf Kristersson.

For those who observed what happened on January 6, 2021 when Congress was stormed, it is beyond reasonable doubt that Trump attempted a coup d'état. When his vice president refused to participate, he did nothing to stop supporters' cries of "Kill Mike Pence."

Trump should reasonably be disqualified from running for president at all.

But talented lawyers who managed to delay all important trials have meant that we now stand here with Trump as a likely winner as Kamala Harris.

What does that say about Kamala Harris' ability to excite voters?

"Imagine that Magdalena Andersson would use such expressions about Ulf Kristersson." Photo: Ida Persson/Svd/TT

Dictator

She has failed to capitalize on the momentum that Biden's decision to withdraw at the last minute gave her.

She has not succeeded in formulating a coherent policy of her own. Instead, she spends most of her campaign time talking about why voters shouldn't vote for Donald Trump.

She paints him as a danger to the country's democracy. She has even called him a fascist and a dictator.

A number of prominent Republican politicians such as former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter Lis Cheney have said they will vote for Harris.

More than a hundred political appointees who worked in Trump's administration when he was president have come out publicly saying he is unfit for the job. His former chief of staff  John Kelly  goes so far as to accuse the Trumps of fascist dictator tendencies.

What Harris and the Democrats should be asking is why, despite all the baggage Trump carries, she can't outrun him in the polls. It is a tremendous sign of weakness.

For a while, Harris tried to ridicule Trump by portraying him as "weird", a little strange. But in recent weeks, she has completely abandoned it to instead sound the big warning drum. Without it making the slightest difference in opinion polls. On the contrary, it seems that the momentum has shifted to Trump to some extent.

Donald Trump. Photo: Nora Savosnick

Is there no one better?

I have encountered a number of constituents in the past week who have been horrified to ask the question:

- Are these really the two best people we can get to rule the world's most powerful country?

Nor can it understand that the choice is between an ex-president who was impeached twice during his four years in power and a Democrat who in the last presidential election was forced to drop out early because so few wanted to vote for her.

If Biden had dropped out of the race much earlier, the Democrats should reasonably have produced a better candidate. Perhaps it would also have led to second elections on the Republican side although that is more doubtful.

Now the election is once again effectively a referendum on Trump.

To his supporters, it doesn't matter what Trump does or how foul-mouthed he gets.

It votes for him regardless. He is as close to god as you can get.

For the Democrats, it is about stopping a new presidential term for Trump at all costs. Many genuinely fear that Trump intends to turn into a dictator and undermine American democracy.

Clear direction

But enthusiasm for Harris is limited. Her biggest asset is that she is the only one who can stop Trump.

For many voters, she is still an unknown leaf. Who is Kamala Harris really? What does she want?

One explanation is that she does not dare to distance herself too much from Biden because she is still part of his administration.

With Trump, the way forward is very clear. Revenge on the opponents. Big tax cuts for the already wealthy. End of free trade. Strongly reduced support for Ukraine. Greater presidential power at all levels. Mass deportation of immigrants.

For many American voters, Trump appears strong on all the issues they think are most important: the economy, immigration and energy independence.