The United States Faces a Deepening Divide in the Biden vs. Trump Election: A Dysfunctional Gerontocracy

The most powerful nation on the planet, and endearing in many ways, falls prey to an insane ego dispute between two unpopular old men.

Populism passed through the White House and damaged the soul of that splendid nation to which leaders of the left, center, right, atheists, Christians or Muslims are going to study or teach.

I always remember what an old Cuban, black as coal, with sad eyes and cheap gold necklaces, said to me three years ago on a step in Parque del Domino, in Miami’s Little Havana:

“This country is already on the way out”.

With Donald Trump’s populist experiment in office, the United States entered one of the most polarized moments in its contemporary political history.

The country is literally split in half in terms of political alternatives to direct the political and economic course.

Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump currently have the same popular support: 43 percent each.

Although Biden has managed to stabilize the inflation situation, which was at an annualized rate of 8.1 percent in 2022, to 3.0 in 2023, his political bonds do not rise.

And while Trump has been the subject of three criminal indictments in a four-month period, he is the undisputed leader to win the Republican presidential nomination.

The great paradox is that most Americans would prefer other candidates, but they are going to have to settle for a Biden versus Trump election.

If Biden retains the White House, as most analysts expect, he will be 86 when he leaves office.

Trump is 77 years old and would be 83 when he ends an eventual second term.

America has become a dysfunctional gerontocracy, with senile and unpopular candidates clinging to power.

Even in the scenario that Trump is imprisoned for one of the three criminal proceedings against him, the constitutional loopholes would allow him to compete, win and even govern from prison.

Furthermore, if Trump wins the presidency it would raise a constitutional question that has never been litigated in any court: could he forgive himself?

Trump’s case is unique, since no president of the United States had ever faced criminal charges.

But even if you are convicted, the US Constitution does not prohibit you from running for office, since the only requirements are to be at least 35 years old and to be an American by birth or naturalization.

Written during a historical period when it was unthinkable for a convict to run for President, the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it.

Under the US legal system, what is not explicitly prohibited is permitted.

In 1920, from prison, after being convicted of sedition as a result of his demonstrations against the participation of the United States in World War I, the socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for the White House. He lost.

But Trump’s case is not only unique because there are no former presidents who have run for office in his situation, but also because of the number of accusations against him.

Trump and his company face 40 charges in connection with the theft of classified White House documents, 34 criminal charges for falsifying their business accounting, and four for conspiring against the validation of the 2020 election result.

Altogether, if convicted of all options, he could earn more than 400 years in prison and… be president of the United States, for the second time.

Regardless of the legal situation, the United States will enter the November 2024 presidential election under a division deepened by the polarizing politics of the Trump era.

The Fitch rating agency, for the first time, reduced the grade of the sovereign debt of the United States, among other factors, due to the ungovernability that was reflected during the debate on the increase in the debt ceiling.

If the United States continues as it is now, with the Democrats in control of one house and the Republicans in another, the outcome will guarantee an extended period of legislative political deadlock.

And a new chapter of the age of polarization.

Or with a president who, from prison, forgives himself.

Consult more columns in our printed version, which you can display by clicking here

2023-08-04 15:31:02
#Trump #rule #jail