AS the political divide in the United States gets wider, a Pew Center poll showed 65 percent of Americans believe that the country’s democratic system needs major reforms, while 57 percent of respondents believe the US is no longer a model of democracy.
“American politics is consumed by nonsensical farce and entertainment, and cannot focus on things that really matter,” according to a political observer. While politics and politicians in the US can also be entertaining, Americans would rather consume other forms of entertainment. Most of them do not fancy re-runs.
Unfortunately for the 332 million citizens of the most powerful country in the world, they are about to watch one of the biggest re-run in the nation’s political history. They are about to see two interesting old hands square off in 2024: The man who said “America is a nation that can be defined in a single word—Asufutimaehaehfutbw” will battle it out against the one who disclosed an anatomical anomaly that surprised the medical community when he claimed that “the kidney has a very special place in the heart.”
From the Associated Press: “Whether voters like it or not, a Trump-Biden rematch may be on the horizon, raising the prospect of a deeply uncertain election season that only intensifies the nation’s political divide. Already, Trump is skipping his party’s presidential debates and his court appearances are sometimes drawing more attention than his campaign stops. And Biden has barely begun to campaign as he grapples with questions about his age and his son’s legal challenges.”
This would be a return engagement that American voters do not want. “Voters are looking for change, and neither of them is the change that they’re looking for,” a pollster said. A new AP-NORC poll asked US adults: “What words come to mind when you think of Joe Biden or Donald Trump?” The top terms respondents used for Biden are “old” and “bumbling”; for Trump, the top terms are “corrupt” and “dishonest.”
Pew Research said should a Biden-Trump sequel come about, it would be the seventh presidential rematch in US history, and the first since the 1950s. In the first four rematches, the outcome was different the second time around; in the most recent two, the outcomes were the same as the first match-up.
“A Trump-Biden rematch would be a disaster for the country. I’m very depressed about it,” Bobbie Kilberg, a prominent Republican donor who is supporting former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, told the AP. She said it’s “scary” that so many voters in her party continue to support the former president. “I refuse to believe that Trump is our inevitable nominee.”
Trump is facing 91 felony charges in criminal proceedings in Atlanta, New York, South Florida, and Washington. Barring legal hitches, Trump could be a convicted felon before the presidential election. But most party leaders have vowed to support him even if he is convicted. The US Constitution does not bar felons from assuming the presidency.
Last week, Presidential Foundations and Centers across the US, for the first time, have issued a joint statement regarding the future of America. The joint statement emphasized the need for compassion, tolerance and pluralism while urging Americans to respect democratic institutions and uphold secure and accessible elections.
“As a diverse nation of people with different backgrounds and beliefs, democracy holds us together. We are a country rooted in the rule of law, where the protection of the rights of all people is paramount. At the same time, we live among our fellow citizens, underscoring the importance of compassion, tolerance, pluralism, and respect for others,” the statement said.
It is undeniable that partisan antipathy is getting deeper and more extensive in the US. For example, there’s no evidence that widespread fraud affected the outcome of the 2020 election, but Trump and allies have spent years undercutting the election’s legitimacy. A recent Monmouth survey found that 3 in 10 Americans (30 percent)—including two-thirds (68 percent) of Republicans—believe that Joe Biden only won the presidency because of voter fraud.
Given the mercurial nature of American voters today, how would the 2024 presidential elections pan out? Is American democracy still vulnerable to interference by foreign adversaries in 2024? Will the world again see a loser attacking the foundations of American democracy? Will a third party, led by either the group No Labels or some other candidate, field a presidential candidate?
Pundits say it is improbable that a popular presidential bet that is both anti-Trump and anti-Biden may emerge. So, brace yourself for a dreary rematch in 2024.
