Letter: Benjamin Selwyn says the Democratic party failed to drain the swamp of poverty and inequality that amplifies Trump’s faux populism, while Paul Nickells points the finger at Joe Biden’s late departure
Donald Trump’s existential threat to US and global democracy raises the question of what the Democratic party was prepared to invest to avoid such an outcome. Judging by Kamala Harris’s campaign, the answer, it seems, was not very much. No Medicare for All, no green new deal, no mass provision of social housing (or just advocating rent caps). Not much, then, to win over the crucial segment of low-wage America that supports Trump.
Since Joe Biden’s victory in 2020, progressive voices have warned that to beat Trump next time, the Democratic party needed to drain the swamp of poverty and inequality that amplifies Trump’s faux populism. Instead, they repeatedly placed their hopes in legalist measures to put him out of the race, thereby “proving” to Trump’s base that they had more in common with elites than with the masses. The Democratic party has squandered this opportunity, and the poor and downtrodden will pay the price.
Prof Benjamin Selwyn
University of Sussex
• The blame for the Democrats’ loss in this election rests squarely on the shoulders of Joe Biden. If he had done the right thing and declared at the start of the campaign that he was not seeking re-election (which he was clearly unfit for), it would have given the party time to choose the best candidate.
Kamala Harris was parachuted in at the last minute, carrying much of the baggage of the Biden presidency. Let’s hope that the hubris of another man approaching his 80s who thinks he is up to the job will lead to his downfall.
Paul Nickells
Appleby, Cumbria