N. Peter Kramer’s Weekly Column
In less than a year, on Tuesday November 5, Americans will go to the polling stations for the presidential election. A repeat of the battle between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump is emerging. It will be a defeat for American politics. Neither Biden nor Trump is innovative and the men are 80 and 77 years old respectively.
Among the Republicans, opponents such as Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are trying to be an alternative to Trump. Former Vice President Mike Pence has already left the race. And Trump? He can count on the support of more than half of the Republican supporters. A choice for bitterness and resentment instead for renewal.
In 2020, Biden promised as a candidate to bring calm and create order. Expected to be president for only one term. Given his age, that would make sense. Moreover, there is no shortage of alternatives among the Democrats. But Biden is going ahead and so alternatives are not necessary. Serious candidates are complying with Biden in the hope of succeeding him in 2028. It is a missed opportunity for Democrats to let politicians like Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar on the sidelines. Especially because Joe Biden is so unpopular. Of all the postwar presidents, only Jimmy Carter was less well-liked than Biden at this point in the presidency.
Looking at the performances of the two men, the difference between them seems more than three years. Biden is an old man. Trump is Trump. A bleak perspective, for the US and for the world.
