It’s hardly a secret that Americans will soon head to the polls to render their verdict on the Donald Trump presidency. So, who’s going to be trying to hijack the election process in the US this time around?
The big question is can Trump still win re-election, after going through hell and high water during his first term.
Last time, the Trump team managed to pull ahead largely due to a series of scandals that surrounded his opponent – Hillary Clinton, which allowed him to steal the so-called swing states of Florida and North Carolina, while coming on top in a number of the traditionally Democratic states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. However, the electorate, just like the internal situation in the US, has undergone drastic changes since 2016. The general election isn’t just about the presidency, it’s about the way how the country is going to be governed and what goals the United States is going to pursue, including its economic and social development goals. The daily life of an average American is going to depend on the ability of the winning candidate to deliver on the promises made during the election campaign. During Trump’s term in office, the US got itself involved in a massive arms race together with the so-called trade wars, so navigating the country through the troubled waters would certainly be a challenge in the post-election years.
Even though the election cycle has been revving up since last January, the acting president filed his paperwork to run for re-election on his inauguration day.
There’s no wonder that Washington’s truth-lovers are coming out of the closet these days, sensing that easy money can once again be made by spreading fake stories and propaganda. All of the worn-out Russophobic cliches are put on repeat by the majority of American TV stations, together with the allegations about Kremlin election meddling. It matters not that Muelller’s two-year probe failed to provide any comprehensive results, exposing those that were spreading anti-Russian election-meddling allegations as media speculators. As it’s been stated by Fox News, the Democrats are still clinging to the Russia probe because it’s all they’ve got.
Against the backdrop of media personalities claiming that there will certainly be cyberattacks on election infrastructure, it’s been announced that better cyber-security hygiene practices are going to be employed during this race. The military’s Cyber Command has also been put on alert.
However, Washington’s truth-lovers changed their tactics for this campaign, replacing their crusade about Trump’s “collusion with Russia” with a new effort to define Trump as a racist, while describing racism as the greatest problem in America.
At the forefront of this effort is the New York Times that, according to Fox News, launched the 1619 Project that is designed to rewrite America’s history. In particular, it’s been stated that:
It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.
At the same time, an essay published by this media source criticizes Asian Americans who want their civil rights protected, which paints the whole initiative in an insincere light.
In turn, the truth-lovers from Project Syndicate have made an attempt to draft an instruction to the Democrats, using the Obama-Biden duo as a successful example of the race card being at play. While admitting that race plays an important part in the American culture wars, the publication warns those that “believe that a coalition of non-white minorities is best placed to oppose Trump’s white chauvinism.” It proceeds with stating that a significant number of African Americans and Latinos are religious and socially conservative.
However, those truth-lovers must have misunderstood those behind the recent anti-Trump racism hysteria push, as they would state that:
Former Vice President Joe Biden is far from an ideal candidate for the Democrats. He is too old and not quick enough on his feet.
Clearly, this was hardly the best possible attempt to promote Biden’s nomination bid, unless somebody believes that Americans are going to root for a candidate that will be both docile and supine. It’s true that special interests may be looking for a man that fits this description, but that’s not exactly the same thing.
With the failing Russian meddling narrative and the equally unconvincing racist card, the only question is what are those Washington’s truth-lovers going to push next? More Russophobia or even Sinophobia?
It’s clear that an average American gets no attention in all this, with the list of the challenges he faces in his day-to-day life growing, all he sees is the show that the financial elites staged to keep him entertained. The Democrats against the Republicans, the great divide, that is only there to allow one group of super-rich profiteers to settle their differences with yet another group of such profiteers in a “civilized manner.”
Jean Périer is an independent researcher and analyst and a renowned expert on the Near and Middle East, exclusively for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook“.