Elephant in the Room

The Republican Party was “killed by epidemic of Trump.” That’s what the New York Daily News, well-known for its hard-hitting front pages, maintains in its headline. To illustrate its assertion, a caricature: an elephant (symbol of the political party) in a coffin.

Since the withdrawal of his last two rivals, Donald Trump is finally finding himself alone in the race for the nomination for his party. There doesn’t seem to be anything or anyone else who can stop him. His coronation will be a formality.

Trump, the presumed Republican nominee for the presidential election in November… Abraham Lincoln, one of the most illustrious representatives of the party, is probably turning over in his grave.

But, to paraphrase Mark Twain, a contemporary of that president, reports of the death of the Republican Party have been greatly exaggerated.

Trump knew how to make all of his Republican rivals bite the dust while there were still a few weeks left in the primary and caucus season. It’s a blessing for him, for three reasons:

– Contrary to what many have predicted, there will be no fratricide during the Republican convention in July. Trump should therefore come out of it without too many scars and will be able to use the event as a springboard to the White House.

-His clean and clear victory — he will be able to gather the 1,237 delegates necessary to win decisively — gives him a legitimacy that he didn’t have before, and comes to prove that he has what it takes to be a winner in politics and not just in the world of business. All of that is going to change the perception of the voters on his behalf.

– Hillary Clinton does not have free rein. She still has to spend her time and money fighting against Bernie Sanders.

Most polls currently show Clinton as the winner in a duel against Trump. But there are still six months before the presidential election. She must certainly not underestimate her adversary.

It’s not just by denouncing him that she will win. Nor by maintaining that Americans cannot take the risk of voting for him. Incidentally, certain polls already show that he has convinced a good number of voters that he will be better than she will for reviving the country’s economy.

Clinton must instead pull herself together. Since the start of the campaign, she has too often been in the shadows. She hasn’t known how to inspire or respond in an original and passionate way to the fear and aspirations of the voters.

She must quickly give young people — who vote en masse for Bernie Sanders — reasons to rally behind her candidacy. She must also find ways to appeal to independent voters and the Republicans irritated by Trump’s attitude and remarks.

Getting elected therefore won’t necessarily be child’s play for her. Yes, she can potentially give the Republican Party a beating. But the race could also be very tight if her rival continues to successfully set fire to the rules of the American political game.

We will have a front row seat to this potential clash of the titans. All we have left is the hope that Clinton and her team will find the way to beat a candidate who banks on intolerance and whose foreign policy and protectionist penchants are enough to worry us Canadians as the Americans’ neighbors.