The heart of the average voter

Could Donald Trump be reelected president of the United States despite everything that has already been revealed about him as well as potential revelations in the future? The answer, shocking as it may sound to some people, is that he may well be elected to a second term. There are many reasons for this. The Democratic party and the liberal US establishment have still not been able to put their finger on the pulse of the average American voter, when Trump succeeded in speaking to many of their hearts – if not their minds. Trump has been able to communicate with his voters while snubbing the mainstream news media. In fact, he used traditional outlets as a punching bag to galvanize his supporters. At the same time, the Democratic party has not managed to find people without baggage who will not appear to be too far on the left for US political standards but who can at the same time assume a relatively antisystemic position. Having Barack Obama and, particularly, Hillary Clinton come off the bench to energize voters is the safest way to fuel the anger of Trump voters in the heart of America. Elections are, after all, not decided in New York or San Francisco, London or Paris. And the US economy seems to be doing fine, since the negative impact of the trade war with China is not yet evident. For all these reasons, many analysts believe that even if the Republican party were to lose the US House of Representatives in the next election, and even if the US president were to be impeached but not removed, he could still win another term. It sounds crazy, but these are crazy times we live in. Speaking at a recent event organized by The New York Times and Kathimerini in Athens, op-ed columnist Roger Cohen made a crucial remark, saying that the adverse ramifications of a Trump term could be offset in the long term if he fails to win a second term. Part the ultra-defensive tactics played by America’s deep state and the traditional institutions, part the corrective moves of Trump’s successor, could restore some balance. However, a second Trump term would seal the fate of the US for good and any damage to the institutions and their international stature would be grave. Speaking at the same event, Cohen made an additional observation, which does not only concern American journalists and pundits. No one, he said, is going to change his mind just because someone made him feel stupid. People who do not think like you do are not less smart than you are, he added, before concluding: Don’t forget that, at the end of the day, millions of people voted for Trump.