Alabama’s Lesson for Trump

The defeat of the ultraconservative president-backed candidate for the Senate gives rise to the Democrats

The defeat of Donald Trump’s candidate for Senate in the Alabama elections conveys a clear message. Even in an overwhelmingly conservative state, which has elected Republican senators for the last 25 years, the electorate seems unwilling to endorse the erratic, authoritarian and unprofessional way of governing provided by the current occupant of the White House.

As usual, Trump dismissed the advice of experts. Firstly, in the primary, he backed the tarnished Republican candidate and further supported the controversial winner of the primaries, ultraconservative ex-judge Roy Moore. Moore was already famous for scandals, but he faced further claims from numerous women that he sexually abused them when they were teenagers. Moore embraced Trump’s slogan to “Make America Great Again” while adding his own particularly racist touch. He added that, for him, the USA had been a great country “when families were united, even though we had slavery.” It is not surprising that 98 percent of black women and 92 percent of black men voted for Democrat Doug Jones. That’s quite a record. The president did not hesitate to distance himself and was seen to be “pleased with the outcome,” i.e., betrayal by members of the Republican Party. There wasn’t the least trace of self-criticism.

The Republican defeat further shrinks their majority in the Senate, which is now 51 seats to the Democrats’ 49, less than a year before the next important political events. Any politician should take note of the lesson: If an extremely conservative electorate turns its back on its party’s candidate, it’s because it is considered too progressive or because it is seen as unacceptable. Alabama has refused to be represented by a racist, who must also clarify his behavior with underage women. Voters see things much more clearly than Trump does.