Photo: Ben Curtis Associated Press A Kamala Harris supporter remained seated in the stands after hearing the candidate concede victory to Donald Trump on Wednesday at Howard University in Washington.
Agence France-Presse in Washington
Published at 10:06
- United States
Strategic Mistakes ? Or a Deeper Problem of Disconnection with the Working Classes ? After Harris’ resounding failure against Trump, the Democratic camp is beginning a painful introspection.
Tuesday’s defeat is bitter.
Not only did the Vice President fail to become the first woman to lead the United States, but she was also soundly and clearly beaten by the tempestuous Republican.
Donald Trump even gave Democrats the cold sweats in states they thought were won over to their cause, such as Virginia or New Jersey, or even certain corners of California or New York. And could become the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years, according to a count that is still ongoing.
There's also Congress.
The Republicans have largely regained control of the Senate, which exceeded their expectations, and are very well on their way to keeping control of the House of Representatives.
The hemorrhage is total for the Democrats, who had full powers in Washington only four years ago and who are now advancing at loggerheads.
Biden's “infirmities”
The first blows were aimed at Joe Biden.
How could the octogenarian president have put his party at such risk by running for re-election, despite persistent doubts about his fitness?? By hanging on after the first calls for his withdrawal, forcing his vice president to campaign three months old ?
A member of Kamala Harris’s campaign team lashed out Wednesday at the “deep hole” Democrats have been forced to dig themselves out of in this whirlwind campaign.
Influential former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg railed against those who “hide President Joe Biden’s infirmities until they become undeniable.”
When asked about whether the Democratic president had any regrets, his spokeswoman said she would leave the issue to “experts” and assured Biden that he was “proud” of his record.
In his first speech since the Democrats’ defeat on Thursday, the 81-year-old leader also did not appear to engage in an exercise in of introspection.
Read also
- Analysis | 5 reasons that explain Donald Trump's victory
- Kamala Harris' defeat, or the failure of the Democratic strategy
- Joe Biden promises a peaceful transition with Donald Trump
The working class “abandoned”
But the crisis that is shaking the Democratic camp is deeper.
On the left as well as in the center, several elected officials have become angry with a party that they accuse of being far too disconnected from the working classes and of having learned nothing from its first failure against Donald Trump, suffered in 2016.
“It should come as no surprise that a Democratic Party that has abandoned the working class finds itself abandoned by the working class,” argued socialist Senator Bernie Sanders in an incendiary statement.
Like Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris did indeed lose valuable votes among members of the white middle class—who were convinced that the New York billionaire understood their daily struggles better.
The Republican even managed to broaden her base, making notable inroads among black and Latino voters without college degrees.
And now ?
For Democrat Tom Suozzi, his party’s disconnect with the working class is not just about economic issues.
The elected official criticized his camp for choosing dogmatic issues that worry progressive elites as a battleground with the Republicans, to the detriment of substantive issues that concern the working classes.
He cited the issue of transgender rights or the pro-Palestine protests that rocked American campuses in the spring as examples.
“Many Americans are simply more afraid of the left than they are of what President Trump will do,” the New York congressman warned in a statement.
Democratic leader Jaime Harrison has sharply criticized accusations that his party has turned its back on workers, calling them “complete bullshit.”
“There's a lot of analysis out there after this election, and this isn't one of the good ones,” he said in a post on X.
The official, who is very close to Joe Biden, has already made it known that he will not run for re-election, which opens the way to a change in leadership among Democrats early next year.
The trench warfare is on.
Musk participated in the call between Zelensky and Trump after his victory
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, participated in the call Wednesday between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump after the latter's victory in the US presidential election, an official working within the Ukrainian presidency told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday. “I can confirm that,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, when asked about information from the American media outlet Axios.
Another senior Ukrainian source told AFP that Trump “handed the phone” to Musk, who then spoke “briefly” with Zelensky. “Trump gave him the phone, they were together somewhere. The [Ukrainian] president thanked him for Starlink [the satellite link systems Musk provided to Ukraine],” the source said. “They spoke briefly. But the main conversation was, of course, with Trump,” the source added.
According to the same source, Trump and Zelensky “did not really discuss anything substantial, it was a greeting conversation.” The Ukrainian president described the conversation as “excellent.”
Elon Musk played an unprecedented role in Donald Trump’s campaign, spending more than $110 million of his fortune to get him elected. He also held a series of campaign rallies in support of the Republican’s candidacy in the highly contested state of Pennsylvania. The billionaire is expected to join Donald Trump’s future administration, but the precise contours of his role have not been revealed.
Highly critical of the billions of dollars released for Ukraine, the president-elect promised to resolve this conflict before even taking the oath of office — without ever explaining how.
Agence France-Presse