The United States: lessons from the election

It’s an undeniable big win, and this time the losers didn’t rush to cry wolf. Last Tuesday, by winning the majority of states and about four million more votes than his Democratic opponent, Donald Trump achieved the best return in American political history. Under his influence, the Republican Party will take control of the Senate and will undoubtedly continue to control the House of Representatives, even if a few seats are still pending. So the man who, four years ago, had denied it, launched his supporters to attack the Capitol and vowed revenge, is the man against whom several current charges apparently very close to the prison box, this 78-year-old man is good. a man who, next January, will become the 47th president of the United States and will once again take the oath to defend the Constitution.

What the poll tells us about the divisions in American society

For all those who love this country, its energy, its culture which is in danger of being idealized, those who know its political history, this last election campaign will have been try, with multiple upheavals, two assassination attempts, the removal of Biden. at the end of her strength, the late entry into the running for vice president who had not commented, the contrast between this black woman, a lawyer, a former prosecutor, and the macho billionaire denying those he wants the enemies from within, this verbal violence, this volatility, the great disinfection of social networks, the anxiety with the idea of a new civil war in this broken and gun-ridden society – and finally this red wave that shows the extent to which purchasing power and immigration have swept away all other ideas in the minds of Americans. The financial markets are up, the business community is rejoicing. It is only in Europe that concern and concern are expressed in the light of day – it was enough to see heads of state and government gathered until yesterday at a summit in Budapest. How do you explain Trump’s victory? What does it reveal about the real divisions in American society? The democratic process worked flawlessly. At the start of a second term, who will be part of the new team, what will be the counter-powers? What should we expect from season 2 of Donald Trump?

Our guests:

Ann Deysine published Justices Against America: The Supreme Court’s Embrace of the Radical Right (Paris Nanterre University Press, October 16, 2024);

Laurence Nardon is the producer of the podcast A New Deal (available on all podcast platforms) She recently published Geopolitics of American power: what is the role of the United States in the world? (PUF, August 2024);

Gérard Araud especially published Israel: the trap of history (Tallandier, March 2024);

Lauric Henneton published by Julien Grossot Rock’n’road tour: the United States in 1,000 songs from Alabama to Wyoming (afterword by Georges Lang, Hors Collection / RTL, 2023). He also signed the introduction Taylor Swift: the story of a phenomenon: a biography by Caroline Sullivan, published September 2024 by Hors Collection (translated by Laura Vaz).