US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump.
Pundits and contestants like to call any impending election the most important one in their lifetimes. They usually cast it as the mother of all elections – a do-or-die proposition. You would think an electoral contest could be the end of history, a catastrophic Armageddon that would end life on earth as we know it.
The poor electorate, the hoi polloi, not knowing any better, are tossed hither and thither like pigskins. On both sides of the political divide, they menace each other with anxiety, hatred, despair, or evil glee. They act as though they will be impacted negatively, or positively, at a very personal level. That’s the political environment in America a couple of days to this election.
To be fair to everyone, it feels that way at ground zero here in the United States. In 40 years, I have lived through many presidential elections in this country. I can tell you this – this election will be like no other. That’s because I have never seen anything like it. It’s wild, weird, and outlandish. No presidential election has starred two candidates who were a more diametric opposite of the other. None. Donald Trump, a New York real estate magnate and one-time President of the United States, could as well be as different as a Martian from Kamala Harris, the lawyer and serving Vice President of the United States. Let me tell you why this is night and day.
It’s not rocket science to understand what each candidate stands for, who they are, and what they would do once in office. Let me take you to The Tempest by William Shakespeare Act 2, Scene 1 where Antonio utters the words, “What’s past is prologue.” Meaning that what has happened in the past can determine, or predict, the present and the future. For political candidates for office you look to their biography to understand them, and what they might do once in office. Both Mr Trump and Ms Harris have well-known records in public life. None is a mystery, or a black box. Both have lived their adult lives in the public glare of cameras. We know them.
Silver spoon
Let’s start with Mr Trump. The man from Queens, New York, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He inherited his father’s vast wealth and parlayed it billions, although there’s doubt about his self-proclaimed net worth. His journey in the world of business has been anything but smooth.
By some estimates, he’s declared bankruptcy at least six times. In his real estate business, Mr Trump was found guilty of systematic discrimination for his refusal rent apartments to African-Americans. He’s been convicted of rape. He was convicted of 34 felonies in New York where he was found guilty of an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 election in a hush money payment to a porn star with whom he had sex.
Mr Trump is a convicted felon. No American with such a conviction has ever run for President. That’s not all. Mr Trump is on trial in several jurisdictions for trying to subvert the 2020 election. Most importantly, he’s on trial for orchestrating the coup attempt on January 6, 2021, when he tried to violently hang onto office after losing to Joe Biden.
He faces another case for mishandling US government secrets and classified documents. In his first term in office from 2016-2020, Mr Trump was without doubt the most chaotic President in American history. He openly attacked judges, ethnic minorities, openly used racist language, and abused women. He banned Muslims from entering America and tried to eliminate many social programmes.
Political opponents
In the course of this election season, Mr Trump has said he will round up millions of undocumented immigrants and forcefully deport them without recourse to the courts. He has vowed to use the Justice Department to go after his political opponents, including President Biden and other Democrats whom he calls “vermin” and the “enemy within.” He’s said he will “terminate the American Constitution.”
A man who admires dictators, Mr Trump has said he will end NATO – the political and military alliance of countries from Europe and North America — and force Ukraine to give up its territory to Russia. Mr Trump will end democracy in America, as we know it.
Ms Harris, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of Mr Trump. She is the former Attorney General and Senator of California, the largest US State. She’s also the first female VP of the US, and the first person of African and Indian descent to hold that office.
Unlike Mr Trump, Ms Harris has served the public all her life. She grew up in a middle class household. A Democrat all her life, Ms Harris espouses centre and centre-left policies on the economy and foreign policy. She has vowed to combat discrimination, poverty, and to uplift the youth by expanding job opportunities. She’ll work to restore a woman’s rights to choose. She’s the only democrat in the race. I believe she will win.
Makau Mutua is SUNY Distinguished Professor and Margaret W. Wong Professor at Buffalo Law School, The State University of New York. On X: @makaumutua.
