Americans can correct the mistakes of 2020 in 2024 - the Western world needs it. Written by Gladden Pappin.
The American people have been exposed to political threats for four years. On November 5, they will decide whether the regime of recent years has gone too far.
Let's see how we got here! At the beginning of 2020, it seemed that Donald Trump was riding high in US politics. Then, within a few months, American politics froze, riots broke out in the streets, and mail-in voting spread instead of traditional voting—while there was hardly any public campaigning.
After the events in the Capitol in January 2021, America's left-liberal elite thought that this was the opportunity to bury conservative-national politics forever.
Since then, the left-liberal elite has done everything to cement its rule at the national level. The liberal media saw Donald Trump as an existential threat to the country.
Democrats demonized families, men, and traditional culture. Racism and sexism were used as political weapons and left the country more divided than ever. Meanwhile, a mass of migrants have been admitted – eight million have entered since 2021 – which is transforming American cities.
At the same time, the image of the United States was destroyed on a global level. Joe Biden's mental decline was covered up for years - only to eventually replace him with Kamala Harris without any democratic consultation.
They once again dragged the West into a failed war effort, weakening and destabilizing Europe. However, the American electorate over time sensed the desperate situation. They understood that their lives were no longer improving in the way that their parents' and grandparents' had improved. Housing and food costs have risen to unprecedented levels.
In recent months, the choice facing Americans has become increasingly clear. The Harris-Walz mobilization tried to avoid substantive debates and only campaigned with "good humor". As I write these lines at the end of October, the "emotional campaign" is starting to run out of steam.
However, 2024 did not go as planned for the liberals.
A year ago, it seemed that Trump had little chance against the powerful left-liberal apparatus. But the democratic regime overshot the mark in many respects and could not campaign along one theme. In the end, they could only appeal to fear - saying that Trump would take away the rights of women and minorities.
Despite all this, Donald Trump may present one of the greatest comebacks in American politics.
But even if he succeeds, it will not be easy because of the domestic and global situation. Since 2020, the United States has poured vast sums of money and vast amounts of equipment into a war that is not purely in American interest. While the US southern border is in ruins, billions of dollars are being spent on the war in Ukraine.
This situation calls into question the correct direction of foreign policy.
Domestically, however, it is not a traditional social cause or foreign policy that is most important to the voters, but whether the American system can return to a policy based on national goals, including the protection of national sovereignty and borders, and the support of national industrial and economic strength. If this becomes the basis again, then American communities can once again become a thriving scene of family life.
Currently, elite institutions from politics to finance to science are dominated by the liberal left. If Harris wins in early November, they can be reinvigorated and continue to transform America's traditions.
As in 2016, there is only one chance to get the US government back on track. On November 5, it will become clear what direction the Americans will choose.
The author is the president of the Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs
