According to polls, the last thing Americans wanted was to relive a Biden/Trump election. However, with the Republican Party totally under the influence of extreme religious factions galvanized by Trump, and with a classic Republican candidate unable to access power, this party is at risk of paying a heavy price for its positions against abortion and other societal issues.
On the Democratic side, there is no credible challenger to threaten Joe Biden’s re-election. Although he has led an almost flawless policy and has many promising personalities around him in his government who could become real leaders in the future, many activists prefer another candidate and are succumbing to a form of disillusionment. Undoubtedly, these upcoming elections will still be marked by the drama of January 6th and its disastrous consequences on democracy, which President Biden and his ministers have been trying to calm since the beginning of his term. Much work has been done on this front, but the most extreme Republicans continue to shock the population with laws against abortion and their intransigence on gun control, even as 2022 was the deadliest year for gun violence in the US.
The fact that some Republican lawmakers are revising history and that certain books are being banned here and there on religious grounds are things that the majority of eligible voters are willing to vote for Democrats to prevent. This is to block Trump and his allies who continue to attack democracy by all means, even as Trump himself is under the scrutiny of the justice system. Even worse, the underlying racism of the Trump era that seemed to embolden some individuals is still present. It would take just a spark for all the efforts made by Democrats in this area to go up in smoke again. For now, while Republicans seem to be struggling in the elections, there is still a lot of uncertainty, especially regarding Trump’s legal fate. What would happen in case of conviction? It’s hard to say, although one can imagine a new extreme uprising like January 6th. What would be the reaction of the population? One can only observe that in such a scenario, bipartisanship clearly shows its limits and perhaps there is also room for reflection. Maybe it’s time to reinvent a slightly different form of society in which other paths would be possible. There is certainly food for thought for constitutionalists on this subject, at least in terms of reflection.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent
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