The Big Reckoning with Trumpism Did Not Materialize
Published in Die Welt
(Germany) on 4 Nov 2020
by Clemens Wergin (link to original)
It's too early to know who the next American president will be. As many have predicted, because of the high percentage of early voters in key states whose votes have not yet been counted, it may be days before we know whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won a majority of the electoral vote.
Still, there are some realizations that are already clear. The most important is that there has been no landslide victory for Joe Biden, so the Americans did not, as many had hoped, vigorously reject Trumpism. Even if Biden should win the race in the end -- and that is also questionable.
Then Trump showed once again on election night that he is a demagogue who puts his own interests above those of the country. He has declared himself the winner, although the choice is far from decided. And to pretend the ongoing counting of all votes cast constitutes electoral fraud, as Trump did in front of the cameras, or that Democrats want to steal his alleged election victory is unique in American history.
It once again reveals Trump's autocratic tendencies and his disregard for democratic rules and processes. Thus, Trump ignites the fire and prepares the ground for possible outbreaks of violence by his supporters if Biden should win the election. That is undemocratic and irresponsible.
Even if he should lose, Trump has achieved amazing things. He again defied the survey institutes and performed significantly better than they had predicted -- even though they had adjusted their models after 2016.
He also managed to mobilize even more voters than in 2016, which, among other things, refutes the assumption that high voter turnout always plays into the hands of the Democrats. The president has also managed to convince at least half of the country that the corona pandemic is not that big of a problem and that he is the right man to get the economy going again. Hispanic voter turnout also grew significantly, demonstrating that not all minorities are as clearly part of the Democratic camp as the left often assumes.
Trump achieved all of this despite the country's continued health and economic crisis, which in normal times would speak against an incumbent president. The fact that he continued to hold large mass events despite the pandemic, while Biden held back, has apparently paid off. In any case, Trump has once again shown himself to be a strong campaigner who can still break the ribbon in the final spurt.
That would actually be a good reason for Trump to be proud, even if no one knows whether or not it will be enough to win again in the end. His absurd remarks about alleged electoral fraud cast a great shadow over the president's amazing comeback.
Still, there are some realizations that are already clear. The most important is that there has been no landslide victory for Joe Biden, so the Americans did not, as many had hoped, vigorously reject Trumpism. Even if Biden should win the race in the end -- and that is also questionable.
Then Trump showed once again on election night that he is a demagogue who puts his own interests above those of the country. He has declared himself the winner, although the choice is far from decided. And to pretend the ongoing counting of all votes cast constitutes electoral fraud, as Trump did in front of the cameras, or that Democrats want to steal his alleged election victory is unique in American history.
It once again reveals Trump's autocratic tendencies and his disregard for democratic rules and processes. Thus, Trump ignites the fire and prepares the ground for possible outbreaks of violence by his supporters if Biden should win the election. That is undemocratic and irresponsible.
Even if he should lose, Trump has achieved amazing things. He again defied the survey institutes and performed significantly better than they had predicted -- even though they had adjusted their models after 2016.
He also managed to mobilize even more voters than in 2016, which, among other things, refutes the assumption that high voter turnout always plays into the hands of the Democrats. The president has also managed to convince at least half of the country that the corona pandemic is not that big of a problem and that he is the right man to get the economy going again. Hispanic voter turnout also grew significantly, demonstrating that not all minorities are as clearly part of the Democratic camp as the left often assumes.
Trump achieved all of this despite the country's continued health and economic crisis, which in normal times would speak against an incumbent president. The fact that he continued to hold large mass events despite the pandemic, while Biden held back, has apparently paid off. In any case, Trump has once again shown himself to be a strong campaigner who can still break the ribbon in the final spurt.
That would actually be a good reason for Trump to be proud, even if no one knows whether or not it will be enough to win again in the end. His absurd remarks about alleged electoral fraud cast a great shadow over the president's amazing comeback.
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