Initial comment from Xekinima
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th President of the United States, beating Kamala Harris in both the popular vote (getting 50.9% and 72,641,564 votes) and securing a Republican absolute majority in the Senate and a majority in the House.
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How can we explain Trump’s victory? Fundamentally, the reasons lie within the Democratic camp. The Democrats defeated Trump in 2020 (with Biden as their candidate at the time) with promises of a different direction: equality, peace, major public investment in welfare structures, the Green New Deal, and more.
However, none of this was realized. Ambitious investment programs (like Build Back Better) were announced but never implemented. On a symbolic level, Biden projected a “pro-worker” image —like when he visited the United Auto Workers picket line— but his economic policies continued to hit the bottom line of working families. The so-called “war on inflation” came at a cost borne by workers. Promises of “green growth” went out of the window after the war in Ukraine began, with hydrocarbons returning to the center of energy policy. The optimistic talk of “peace” vanished. In Ukraine, the largest transfer of military material since World War II turned the conflict into a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia in Ukrainian soil. In the Middle East, Democrats have been supporting at all costs Israel’s genocide against Palestinians, providing diplomacy, funding, and arms. Even on abortion rights, supposedly a priority for them, the Democrats have done little of substance.
Trump, by contrast, has largely maintained his core political message. Despite being a part of the establishment, he presents himself as anti-establishment. He has reinforced the notion of “dark forces” working against the American people, and him standing in the way against the “deep state,” the “elites,” and so on. Immigration remains central to his platform, with conspiracy theories about immigrants being “directed” to “destroy our beautiful country.”
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Harris’s campaign, which initially gained some momentum as “something new,” ultimately did just what was needed to hand Trump the victory.
When asked if she would change anything from the Biden administration, Harris responded, “Nothing comes to mind.” Early in her campaign, she briefly proposed some pro-people measures, but quickly abandoned them under pressure from big Democrat donors. On Palestine, Harris attempted to appear more “sensitive” to the Palestinian people but without doing anything different from what she had been doing.
In fact, Harris moved further to the right, projecting a moderate stance seemingly aimed at attracting right-leaning voters. She targeted the “educated middle class” and aligned with Republicans (eg the Chenneys) who were anti-Trump. On immigration, she ceded ground to Trump’s rhetoric, speaking of a “tough immigration policy.” Her stance on the environment followed a similar trend.
Harris’s main campaign message focused on general themes like “democracy” and “freedom,” which offered little that was concrete. What does “democracy” mean to Black Americans facing systemic police racism? What does “freedom” mean to Arab Americans watching the ongoing massacre in Gaza? What does “prosperity” mean to working people seeing their incomes decline?
In short, while Harris tried to demonize Trump, she failed to substantively differentiate herself from his policies, effectively delivering him the victory.
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Trump’s new presidency is bound to have a negative impact on working people and marginalized communities in the U.S. Meanwhile, his erratic and aggressive foreign policy poses serious risks for global stability.
The American movement must organize to resist the attacks that Trump and the far-right supporters behind him will launch. The approximately 600,000 votes won by independent left candidate Jill Stein represent a base from which the Left can build. The recent rise in labor struggles and the growing recognition among many on the Left that a genuine alternative to the Democrats is needed are also key factors in this moment.
Trump’s election is yet another sign of capitalism’s crisis. When the most powerful country on Earth is led by a reckless, incoherent far-right figure, it reveals the decay within the system itself.
This is why we must organize and fight against capitalism and its representatives everywhere, in pursuit of an alternative, truly socialist society.
