Trump's Vice Presidential Candidate Turned Coat
43- 16.07.2024, 17:40
- 36,846
The United States will be in a fever.
The Republican presidential candidate was Donald Trump, who survived an assassination attempt on July 13. Many media outlets came out with headlines that the assassination attempt would allow Trump to become president of the United States.
Will he really be able to enter the White House on this "wave"? Journalists of Charter97.org spoke about this with Ukrainian diplomat and political scientist, expert of the Center for Defence Strategies Oleksandr Khara:
— It's too early to talk about it. A few important points should be noted. First, there is clearly a deep polarization of American society, and the assassination attempt further consolidates the core of Trump supporters.
Until there is an opinion poll, there are only emotions and guesses about how this will affect independent voters who may decide to vote for Trump.
From the positive aspects, it can be distinguished that the personality of the shooter is specific. He was not a Democrat, not affiliated with them or any other force that could make a difference.
Second, polarization mobilizes both Republicans and Democrats. There are not so many people who have not yet decided in the US. I don't know how much it will really affect them.
— Trump announced the name of his vice president. This is James David Vance. He is critical of aid to Ukraine. What about Trump's possible policy of choosing a vice president?
— This is also an interesting factor. Since it is unlikely that Vance's personality can attract a large number of votes from those who have not decided. On the contrary, for Democrats and independents, he is not a very acceptable candidate. Back in 2016-2017, Vance was very critical of Trump, even comparing him to Hitler, and then, as they say, turned coat.
Most importantly, it is not a moral or political magnitude that will attract those who doubt or would have such strong electoral support. Of course, he has the financial support of one of the richest people in America, the same Elon Musk supports them. This is a resource. But it is too early to say how this can be converted in the elections themselves. Moreover, the assassination attempt took place in July, and the elections will be held in November.
Accordingly, by November, the emotional acuteness of the incident will disappear. The reaction of the Democrats should also be taken into account, since the issue of replacing Biden with someone else has not yet been removed from the agenda. Of course, Biden's participation in the debate was a failure. It raised many questions about his ability to win, including being president in the long run.
By the way, it's the same with Trump. He is an old man, which also raises the question for Republicans: if something happens, Trump will not reach the end of his term, then his vice president will automatically become the head of state. Do they want to see a person who is a populist, has radically changed his views, has no significant legislative experience and no ability to govern?
Naturally, Vance cannot be compared with Trump, who was president for four years. And certainly he can not be compared with Mike Pence, who was also a moral authority, and was popular among the core of Republicans, including the Trump supporters.
I emphasize that until the end of this election race (until November), the US will be in a fever. This will have a strong enough impact on Europeans and Ukraine in particular, since such a bundle does not bode well for anyone.