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The midterm elections for the US Congress, which are being held today, Tuesday, have received the attention of international newspapers, as well as the political future of US Vice President, J.D. Vance, and his chances of succeeding Trump when his term ends in 2028.
We begin our tour with the British newspaper The Independent, and an opinion article entitled “A crushing defeat in the midterm elections will make Trump more dangerous,” written by the newspaper’s global affairs editor, Sam Kelly.
The writer believes that regardless of whether the results of the midterm elections will make President Donald Trump angry or arrogant, he will finally be free from any electoral considerations of any kind.
He added: "Indicators of the way he will deal with the rest of the world can be found in the Oval Office and in his relationship with the Kremlin. He will go from being a threat to the United States' allies to an outright enemy of them. From Cuba to Taiwan, and from Iran to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he will prioritize nothing but the gains of his country (and his family) and the interests of Vladimir Putin."
The writer justifies his point of view "because this is the way Trump has behaved since returning to the White House just last year."
Kelly expects that Ukraine will face an extremely difficult period, and that Taiwan must prepare for the moment when China appears on the verge of invading with Trump's tacit approval. “The Cubans must also prepare for an American attack similar to what happened in Venezuela, remove their president, and quickly begin to extend influence over their current and future economy. This is what happened in Caracas, and it is likely to happen in Havana.”
He added: "As for Iran's neighbors across the Gulf, they have already been warned that Trump is planning to launch a major attack on Tehran."
The author reviews the results of recent opinion polls that showed American voters’ interest in economic issues, such as the rise in fuel prices and the cost of living resulting from the Iran war, as an important determinant in the direction of their vote. He also indicates the decline in Trump’s popularity among Republicans.
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“Trump has been frustrated and his administration has been humiliated by Iran’s steadfastness and defiance,” he wrote. “The ruling regime in Iran that sponsors terrorist organizations...has managed to embarrass the United States and is now viewed sympathetically as a weaker party that bravely resists. Trump will be willing to eliminate” this adversary.
He adds: "But Ukraine and Europe, among the United States' allies in NATO, are the two arenas in which Trump's agenda will appear with the greatest influence now that he has become a lame duck under the Constitution, while he is not entitled to run for a third term."
The writer accuses President Trump of identifying with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whether regarding Iran or Ukraine, or ignoring international sanctions imposed on Moscow.
The writer believes that Trump weakened NATO by threatening to invade Canada and the Danish island of Greenland.
He wrote: “There is every reason to believe that he may follow through on these threats, especially if the results of the midterm elections are not to his party’s liking, and Republicans lose control of the House and Senate.”
He concluded: "Trump often seemed like a person out of the ordinary and lacking in balance. After November 3, he will be without restrictions."
“Is the Trump era really coming to an end?”
We turn to The Guardian, and an article titled “Is this the end of the Trump era? Not as much as you might hope,” written by Nisreen Malik.
The author discusses the impact that President Trump may have on American politics if Republicans are defeated in the congressional elections, and perhaps even after he leaves office in 2028.
She wrote: “The numbers and opinion polls all indicate one thing: Republicans are on the verge of a severe defeat in the midterm elections... Despite expectations that the Democrats will secure a large majority in Congress, there is a question that dominates everyone’s minds: Is the Trump era really approaching its end?”
The writer believes that what comes after the elections paints a much more complex picture, as “the United States will get rid of Trump himself, but it will remain a country torn and undermined by what he unleashed... and by the time he leaves the scene, he may leave an impact that looks as if he had been president for decades.”
He has already passed policies that are nearly impossible to reverse, or policies that can only be reversed by a massive amount of work, legislative bargaining, and rare bipartisan consensus. The role of the United States Agency for International Development has ended. Government departments whose role was effectively eliminated or disrupted by the "Government Efficiency Department" have also likely disappeared or been paralyzed, according to the author.
The writer adds: “The most difficult of all is dismantling the consequences of a war with Iran, as it seems, despite repeated promises that its end is near, as if it is turning into an open conflict with no clear horizon. Even if the midterm elections herald a Democratic victory in 2026, the country that the Democrats will inherit will have been permanently shaped under the influence of Trump.”
Nisreen Malik points out that the Democratic Party, which is competing with Trump and the Republicans, is also a cause for concern, as “Kamala Harris appears as a party official who only offers continuity without political weight.” While another group, such as Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Hillary Clinton, “reflect nothing but a sense of entitlement and disconnection from reality resulting from long years of accumulating influence.”
All of this suggests a future in which Trump may not be present on the scene, but in which there remains enough momentum remaining among his followers, and enough chaos within the Democratic Party, to make any Democratic wave in the midterm elections merely a temporary setback for Trumpism, neither a restoration of the old order nor the beginning of a new order, according to the author.
Nisreen Malik concluded by saying: “The midterm elections may represent the end of a certain phase of the Trump era, but what comes after them may be closer to long-term Trumpism: a Republican party that is still unable to chart a path without him, and a Democratic party that is still unable to define what it represents beyond simply opposing him.”
“Vance is building a political identity that goes beyond Trump.”
Finally, we conclude our tour from the Washington Post, and an article entitled “Vance builds a political identity beyond Trump,” written by Natalie Allison.
The writer says that US Vice President, J.D. Vance, during his participation in recent Republican Party election rallies, has become accustomed to hearing a chant from his supporters, which includes the number 48 in reference to expectations that he will run for the presidency after the end of President Trump’s term, as he will then (if he wins) be the country’s 48th president.
“Vance responded to similar chants in Atlanta a week ago by saying, ‘Let’s first take care of getting the job done in 2026,’” she wrote, referring to the congressional elections.
Allison adds that the outcome of Tuesday's elections, whether Republicans can defy gloomy forecasts of significant losses and maintain the coalition formed by Donald Trump two years ago, will determine the nature of the political environment in which Vance may launch a presidential campaign in 2028.
Vance has avoided criticizing Trump's policies and drawn attention to the administration's accomplishments, but he has sometimes demonstrated a difference in tone and style from the president. In his public appearances this year, he seemed more willing than Trump to acknowledge voters' frustration with the war and the economy, according to the writer.
While the president described war with Iran as an obvious decision to ensure that Tehran does not possess a nuclear weapon, and stressed that Americans do not mind the sacrifice represented by higher fuel prices as a result of the conflict, Vance continues to publicly acknowledge that there are voters inside and outside the Republican Party who oppose war.
“Vance has made his Catholic identity an essential part of his political image, publishing a book about his conversion to Catholicism this year,” she wrote.
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