A weak White House is bad for the world

Three weeks ago, this newspaper called the US election a “sad spectacle”. That was when a tape emerged of Donald Trump making disgusting remarks about women. Now attention has turned back to Hillary Clinton. The FBI says that it is looking at freshly discovered emails related to the private server that Mrs Clinton used while she was secretary of state, activity that might have broken the law and posed a security risk. This latest drama may not change the election result. But it suggests that the acrimony and chaos will continue long after the contest is over.

Mr Trump has called the email affair Mrs Clinton’s Watergate. But those with long memories may recall that the Watergate break-in did not actually prevent Richard Nixon’s re-election in 1972. That year’s presidential contest posed a choice between a maverick and a moderate tainted with scandal, and voters went for the latter. It was after Nixon was sworn in, when the full details of Watergate became clearer, that his opponents attacked. By 1974, he had been forced to resign his office to avoid impeachment.

Already Republicans are planning the same for Mrs Clinton, with talk of congressional investigations and even impeachment. This is obviously presumptuous: if nothing else, the emails may turn out to be entirely benign. Mrs Clinton has confidently asked for the FBI to release everything it has on her. But if Republicans do control the House, maybe even the Senate, then she is going to have a very rough time. One does not have to be a supporter to see tragedy in this. Washington is deadlocked as it is. Growth in the US economy is slow. The Middle East is in turmoil and Russia is accused of starting another Cold War. The world needs strength and leadership in the White House.

We have no doubt that any Republican but Mr Trump would currently be running far ahead of Mrs Clinton in the polls. Among his many flaws, Mr Trump has also been under investigation – for his foundation and his university. For many voters, the election has become a choice between two evils. In a sense, the loser is the American public. We are lucky to have comparatively enlightened and effective leadership in the form of Theresa May’s Government – and should be eternally grateful that Britain is not a presidential republic.