ANYONE who watched the Presidential Debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on June 27, 2024, must be wondering and worrying about the state of American democracy. As some analysts have described, it was a contest between an old man and a con man.
At 81, President Biden’s performance was abysmal as he stumbled throughout the 90-minute debate with his incoherent, confusing and sometimes barely audible responses. He needed a strong performance to bury once and for all many voters’ concerns about his age and lack of physical and cognitive stamina required to perform perhaps the most challenging job on this planet for another 4 year term. But his dismal performance only reinforced the doubts about his ability to act as the President and complete his current term ending in January 2025, let alone for the next four years. If elected, he would be 86 by the end of his second term.
On his part, the 78-year-old former President Donald Trump did no better. He avoided answering most of the questions which were relevant and direct and instead spewed out a litany of his familiar falsehoods on every subject throughout the debate. As much as that these broke the fact-check machines! Not surprisingly he did not commit to accepting the results of the upcoming November presidential elections. Instead, he gave a vague response that only if these are fair and legal, which presumably he alone would determine.
The result was that Biden and Trump spent the entire debate time attacking and ridiculing each other including making fun of each other’s golf skills. No vision or policy alternatives were offered to the voters which was the main objective of the debate. Politicos are debating who won the debate; however, it is clear who the loser was: the American people. They have been forced to choose between these two unwanted individuals. A CNN poll in February 2024 indicated that about 50% of both Democrats and Republicans hope to see someone other than these two as nominees of their respective parties. In American politics, it’s rare for a strong candidate to challenge a sitting President for their party’s nomination.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. attempted to challenge President Biden but faced significant hurdles and withdrew, continuing his campaign as an independent. Despite his lack of public office experience and controversial views like vaccine denial and belief in conspiracy theories, RFK Jr.’s impact may influence swing states’ outcomes, albeit not expected to reach double-digit votes. Conversely, Donald Trump’s unwavering support base enabled him to defeat multiple formidable candidates in the Republican primaries, despite widespread skepticism about the truthfulness of his statements.
So, unless something changes before the Election Day in November, Americans are left with the distasteful task of choosing between a derelict man with a demonstrated lack of cognitive acuity and a pathological liar and reckless convicted felon to be their next President and the leader of the free world. The world is watching in disbelief at the drama unfolding in the US. Some are finding it amusing and enjoying the show from the sidelines. Authoritative regimes such as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are paying particular attention to the saga and see an opportunity to strengthen their positions against the US.
With two major wars raging in Europe and the Middle East what was needed was a strong and astute leadership in Washington to bring an end to these wars, prevent any future conflicts and preserve peace. Instead, what is on the horizon is weak leadership, unpredictability of the US policies and mistrust of the US by friends and foes alike. This situation will further exasperate later this year with the expected change in governments in several key countries such as the UK, France and Canada which will bring uncertainty due to the unpredictability of the new leadership.
How did Americans get to this point? Why is that in a country of 340 million population and hundreds of politicians at the state and federal levels the choice for voters is narrowed down to these two individuals who are unfit for the job for different reasons? To understand the reasons, one must consider the deep polarization in American society in recent decades on the ideological values of conservatives and liberals. Issues such as abortion rights, gay rights, education curriculum, gun control, crime control, illegal immigration, taxation and protection of social safety net have deeply divided Americans on ideological lines.
The polarization has created extremist groups on both sides who have prevented efforts by moderates to find a middle ground on these issues. Instead, they want their man in the White House at any cost regardless of their suitability for the job.
Ever since Donald Trump entered the political scene in 2016 to contest the presidential election, the political landscape changed drastically. American politics has now become ‘Trump-centric.’ Either you love him or hate him. Republicans, after some initial hesitation, realized that they had no choice but to unite behind his leadership. Democrats, instead of offering better governance, fiscal management, and global leadership, simply focused on how to stop Trump, no matter who they put in the White House.
Expect more of the same: personal attacks and insults from both candidates in the next few months until Election Day in November. Then, regardless of who occupies the White House, Americans and the rest of the world are in for interesting times ahead.
—The writer is a retired engineer, based in Canada.
