The US Presidential Election 2024
We have analysed speeches, manifestos and, crucially, voting records in the compilation of this chart. As the campaign proceeds, the chart will be amended to reflect policy changes and other relevant developments.
While the volume of correspondence prohibits us from engaging in communications concerning particular placements, all emails are nevertheless carefully read.
9 August 2024
US elections are never the broad clashes of ideologies that most other western democracies are used to, but this one is different. You would have to go back to 1940 and the fiery exchanges between Roosevelt and Wilkie to find something comparable. And even then, democracy itself wasn’t at stake. It truly is this time.
Trump’s contempt for democracy has been well documented, and in a second more authoritarian presidency it would be fuelled by pathological retribution for the people and institutions responsible for the very long string of criminal charges that he’s facing. What baffles us is that Trump enjoys the support of around 80 percent of evangelical Christians who are somehow untroubled by the venal felon’s “pussy grabbing”, casino operating, porn star liaising, serial lying and so much else.
How can so many who have chosen Jesus as their saviour opt for such a man as their candidate?
How come that gun rights, anti-abortion laws, homophobic, misogynistic and anti-immigration views are more attractive than better health care, a decent living wage, sound climate policies and accessible education?
It’s a mistake, though, to imagine that Christian fundamentalists, the Proud Boys, and frightened, angry provincials comprise all of Trump’s social base. He also enjoys the invisible support of cultured and seriously rich voters. They’d never dream of storming the Capitol or being uncool enough to admit to voting for the vulgarian, but his tax breaks and domestic economic deregulations hold strong appeal for the well-heeled.
It has taken Biden’s welcome withdrawal for Kamala Harris to come across as an attractive possibility for the presidency. Her upbeat and articulate campaigning is surging ahead, underlining the mean-spirited and deeply reactionary character of the Trump/Vance ticket. Trump needed to be contrasted with Biden to appear energetic and sort-of coherent.
Harris was clever to appoint Tim Walz as her running mate. The plain-talking prairie populist complements her own background, and together they may deliver a somewhat more progressive agenda at home, but with little change abroad. It is a measure of how far to the right the US fulcrum has swung that the Republicans feel able to portray the centrist Democratic ticket as “far left”. In fact it is still to the right of many European conservative parties.
Across the pond, independents and smaller parties have been enjoying unprecedented success. They could well also upset results in the six US swing states that will ultimately decide this hugely important election.