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The most important election of the global election year has entered the final stretch. With the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago over last week, there is only one unmovable date marked in red: November 5, when Americans will vote between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump to have one of them occupy the White House for the next four years.
Between now and then, there will be a frenetic and unpredictable 70-day countdown, but the four days of events and speeches by politicians, celebrities and influencers during the DNC make clear the tone that is sought, at least on the blue side of the race. Kamala Harris’s campaign is one of joy and hope. “It’s in the air. It’s electric,” said the attendees through indelible smiles at the television cameras day after day.
It was with these same glasses that Joe Biden said goodbye on the first day with a one-hour speech. A more than symbolic handover of the baton amid a sea of applause and chants of We love Joe (We love Joe.) The mood almost makes one forget that a month earlier the party had indeed staged a mutiny to force the president out of the race after a disastrous debate that was followed by polls that could not be reversed. With Biden banished on Monday, the rest of the days served to paint a picture of the future.
The former presidential couple Barack and Michelle Obama set the tone with their speeches on Tuesday. First Michelle was unequivocal: “It spreads all over this country that we love. A family feeling that has been buried too deep for too long. You know what I’m talking about… It’s the contagious power of hope!” The slogan used by Barack Obama in 2008 made its triumphant return. Closing the day was former President Obama himself, who brought out his oratory with an emotional and even humorous speech, seasoned with small and clever attacks on Trump that only Obama could produce.
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The next day, Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, closed the night with a motivational speech worthy of a football locker room (the governor of Minnesota was coach of the team). high school where he was a teacher for years).
And on Thursday, it was Kamala Harris’ turn. In a half-hour speech, she presented herself to voters as a woman raised in the middle class, a fighter for the common citizen as a prosecutor, and the living image of a multicultural nation looking to the future. But that future, beyond being joyful, was not painted in a particularly clear way. Harris, and the entire party throughout the week, gave some hints about their electoral platform, but that was all. During the Democratic festival, there was very little precision about concrete policies of any kind.
We are still waiting to see exactly what path Harris will chart, but for now joy and hope, feelings that Democrats hope will be as powerful electorally as the fear peddled by Republicans, sparkle amid a nebulous series of proposals. Anyone would be excused from thinking that this inertia is unstoppable, just as was thought at the end of July about the momentum of Trump and the Republicans after a week in which the candidate survived an attack and was then anointed as the absolute leader during his own convention. But precisely this stark contrast serves as a warning that in these elections any trend, however overwhelming it may seem, can be reversed.
Donald Trump’s attempts to regain the spotlight
While the front pages and newscasts were filled with the DNC and the faces of his most hated opponents — Biden, Obama, Harris — Donald Trump sought to regain media prominence by any means necessary. He did not really succeed, and rather, he seemed desperate, which has also been confirmed to the media by people close to his campaign.
He posted on his social network, Truth, almost compulsively as they spoke on the Democratic stage one after another; he connected live to a FOX News broadcast and his intervention was as rambling as ever, and that is no easy feat; he visited the border accompanied by victims of crimes committed by immigrants; and in the rallies he held throughout the week he descended into the mud — against the advice of his advisers — with personal attacks on the Democrats. But none of the shots were accurate and Trump remains without an effective line to confront the tide unleashed by Harris.
It’s not an exaggeration; the current energy and momentum of the Democrats is unprecedented. The polls, which just over a month ago had Trump almost comfortably ahead, have reversed; and Harris has smashed the monthly fundraising record, with $540 million in one month, giving her a very significant economic advantage.
But two months is an eternity in this race. The campaigns will shift into high gear as soon as September begins, with more events and interviews than ever before. Sept. 10 will be the first face-to-face between Harris and Trump, despite concerns over the format, and there may be one or two more after that.
So from now on, this biweekly newsletter will become weekly, so that we can bring you all the developments in a historic election whose reverberations will be felt around the world.
More news on the US elections
After this summary of the week of the Democratic Party’s communion and how it leaves the electoral panorama, here are some pieces to complete your knowledge of the latest developments in the United States presidential elections:
US polls: Harris three weeks ahead of Trump. The Democratic candidate is the favorite according to most pollsters, but her chances of reaching the White House are not that far from those of the former president, explain Montse Hidalgo Pérez, José A. Álvarez and Kiko Llaneras in this statistical analysis.
Democratic enthusiasm for Kamala Harris’ candidacy fuels their battle for control of Congress. The party sees a chance of regaining its majority in the House of Representatives, although Nancy Pelosi warns against euphoria: “We haven’t won anything yet.”
Trump welcomes Kennedy Jr. into the MAGA family. The nonpartisan candidate appears at a Republican rally in Arizona hours after having suspended his campaign in a dozen states.
Opinion |Kamala Harris: A solid center-left agendaby Paul Krugman.The Democratic candidate proposes fighting child poverty and a plan to combat abusive food prices.
