Part of me wishes that I could write this piece the day you read it rather than the day before. The fate of the western world, as I write on Tuesday 5th November, lies in the hands of the American voters as it has often done before. Or to be more precise, the fate of the western world lies in the few hands of hitherto undecided voters in Pennsylvania and one or two other swing states in the US.
The strange thing is that while every US election is replete with consequence for the democracies on our planet, this time the spectre of a Trump presidency is a much more ominous global presence.
The biggest global issue is how the democracies of the world will deal with the Sino-Russo-Korean alliance which is preparing for confrontation in Europe and Asia. The sickening and unforgiveable genocidal cruelty that Netanyahu has unleashed on the innocent children, women and men of Gaza and the West Bank is, alas, of less immediate global consequence.
The false argument that the actions of his government and those of the Israeli Defence Forces are justified by the right to self defence totally ignores the plain fact that the evil of Hamas was spawned and carefully incubated by Netanyahu and his followers precisely to weaken and prevent the emergence of a two-state solution. If people like Rabin had been permitted to create a peaceful two-state solution, there would be no possibility that Iran and its proxies could have ramped up their threat to Israel.
A Trump presidency will inflame the Israeli right. His actions when last in office demonstrate that he has no time for a just outcome for the suffering Palestinians. His son-in-law Jared Kushner has openly canvassed annexation of the Gaza strip as future Israeli real estate with Palestinians expelled to the Negev desert or wherever they can survive. For someone who brags incessantly about his prowess as a dealmaker, Trump offers no prospect of peace in the Middle East.
Trump achieved nothing during his term as president in relation to the growing threat of North Korea. Kim Jong Un is now perfecting intercontinental ballistic missiles with Russian know-how capable of delivering nuclear warheads to mainland America.
Trump’s diplomatic efforts to create a “beautiful” engagement with Kim’s tyrannical regime look in retrospect like a circus elephant pirouetting on an upturned tub. If Kim can now threaten the US with nuclear war, what are the prospects for South Korean and Japanese security? What hope is there for democracy in Taiwan?
That Sino-Russo-Korean axis is a very real threat. While Putin was unleashing his assassins in western Europe, Trump was fawning to him in Helsinki. Now we have evidence that Russian intelligence is orchestrating arson and bomb attacks aimed at damaging and destroying European air transport and goods logistical infrastructure. Now we see Russians pouring out many millions of cash in an effort to wipe out Moldovan democracy by bribery and corruption. Trump is effectively silent but makes it clear that he intends to betray democracy in Ukraine.
On Monday night I watched live as Trump’s final rally in Pittsburgh was shown on Sky News. To say that his interminable rambling, incoherent rant was pitiful would be charitable. To describe it as a vapid stream of abusive semi-consciousness would be more accurate. Even the safety helmet-wearing chorus of supporters on stage behind him were visibly lost, bored, and distracted to the point of stupefaction.
That this man aspires to be the leader of the free world is truly frightening. That such an outcome was reasonably likely is a statement about the American voter and the power of money in the American political process.
A large part of the responsibility lies with Rupert Murdoch who nourished and mainstreamed Tea Party politics using Fox News. Many have forgotten the infamous Glenn Beck, a Fox News commentator who routinely perverted the truth with white board lectures showing the name of Obama with arrows pointing to swastikas and hammers and sickles. Murdoch moved the Republicans from Reagan and Bush type conservatism to the madness of Trumpism
Another major part of the blame attaches to the Democratic National Committee. It was obvious, as I wrote here three years ago, that the Biden-Harris ticket was very vulnerable to a Trump resurgence and needed to be replaced with new blood, new charisma and energy. But they stuck with Biden as his health and cognitive decline accelerated. Then at last they found themselves politically handcuffed to Harris when it was too late for anyone else to win the nomination.
I write this with no exit polls. At very best, the free world will have had the narrowest of shaves – a result for which I fervently hope. At worst, the world is descending into a period of darkness and danger not seen since the 1930s.
America deserved better than this contest. The world deserved better. We haven’t a hope if hope itself is betrayed.