Presidential election 2024, between two old men
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The US presidential election is approaching. The choice is probably between two old men. One is dangerously senile, the other loves herself. A second term with Donald Trump is a nightmare for all of Europe. I take a look at the election and what it’s really about.
Joe Biden unpopular and old
The last presidential election was dramatic. Joe Biden won pretty clearly over Donald Trump. Donald Trump has since denied the election results and claims that election fraud was the reason he lost. The subsequent attempted coup was thwarted.
Joe Biden was chosen as the Democratic presidential candidate because he was seen as a unifying president and a man with broad experience. There was a Biden wind blowing across the US before the 2020 election. Optimism was back for many. A president who united a divided political landscape in the US was what the people wanted. There was also a desire to have a president who took climate issues more seriously and brought the US back to a leadership position in terms of both climate and relations with Western Europe.
Biden has disappointed. Throughout these four years, Donald Trump has further divided the US. Polarization is now at a breaking point. Trump’s lack of respect for the law and his ability to claim that any investigation against him is politically motivated speaks volumes about the current climate in the US. Donald Trump’s failure to recognize the 2020 election results shows a president who does not take democracy seriously.
Make America grate Again, presidential decision
Actually, the Republican message is pretty simple. America will be great again. But the meaning of the term is somewhat different than it was 10 years ago. Trump’s designation is based almost exclusively on economic premises. Money will be used to secure the USA, especially against immigration from Mexico. The term is not used in the sense of the US’s role as a leading nation in an international sense.
International organizations that the US does not see as serving the economic perspective, Trump wants to withdraw the US from. This applies to environmental organizations, international aid organizations and probably also NATO. The perspective of the US being a leading superpower, also outside the economic perspective, seems to be completely missing.
With Donald Trump as president, this will have dramatic consequences for Europe’s security. NATO as we know it is probably over with Trump. Europe must build its own defense alliance without US support. The future of Europe lies in the hands of two old men.
Two old men decide
As I see it, the 2024 presidential election is a choice between two evils. The choice is also a choice between two old men. One is a sitting president who appears to have increasing memory problems. The second candidate is a dangerous man with an admiration for undemocratic leaders.
It would be best if Joe Biden did not run for re-election, but had younger forces take over the Democratic Party. It is regrettable that no one in the party has actually told him that his time is up. Now the party has put the people in a difficult decision. It’s like choosing between plague and cholera.
Sources:
2024 United States presidential election – Wikipedia
Who Are the 2024 Presidential Election Candidates? – The New York Times (nytimes.com)