US voters will set agenda in midterms

Anything goes during election season in the United States. President Donald Trump is back where he left off in 2016 when he ran for the presidency with his polarising strategy that is energising his support base of mostly White voters and the traditionalists who feel threatened by change and outsiders. His rivals in the Democratic party appear to have no clear strategy with the president taking centre stage and ruling the news and social media with his statements and tweets. When he is pushing his divisive agenda, Trump knows this is a fight between ‘them’ and ‘him’. There’s much at stake. In short, he’s a one-man army. If his agenda is thrown out by the voters this time, he could be in a bit of a spot politically. When Trump ascended the presidency, the liberals believed he would botch up everything they stood for. But he has disappointed them by doing things his way. What he has upended is their sanctimonious version of democracy where what they believed honourable was noble for the American people and the world at large. What they foretold of the economy did not happen under his watch: jobs data has never been this positive in years.

Last month, 250,000 jobs were added, and wage growth has been the highest in nine years. The pundits believe the GOP may have a fair chance of retaining control of the House of Representatives while they could cede Senate majority to the Democrats. If this result indeed happens, it could be deemed fair. The president has scored some self-goals with his racist tweets and falsehoods. He will certainly pay for the folly, and he must. In the immigration caravan heading to the US via Mexico, the president has a favourite target. Trump calls it a liberal-left conspiracy. It serves his purpose in these dangerous times when lines between truth and falsehood are blurred. What matters in the end is the voter, the average American, who will cast his and her vote on November 6. The verdict will set the course for the rest of the Trump presidency which could do well with some correction on issues pertaining to social integration and what is means to be an American.