Donald Trump carried the day. The Republicans took control of the Senate. The Republicans will also keep control of the House of Representatives. That is the reality of politics on the ground in the United States of America (USA) after the latest election. This did not happen by accident, either. No doubt, that is an eye opener for the Democratic Party.

Divining Rod

Why did Kamala Harris lose the election? Well, many people suspected that the same administration would just continue with their same policies, and they were not happy with the administration and their policies. President Biden's satisfaction rating was at 36% before he pulled out of the presidential race, and that's a terrible rating. On the TV show 'The View', Kamala Harris was asked if she would change any decision made by Biden as president during his term. She thought for a moment, and answered: "Nothing occurs to me, and I was involved in the most important decisions." With that answer, she tied herself directly to President Biden and his policies. People came to the conclusion that there would be no significant change with Harris as president. But the majority of the country's people were unhappy with Biden, and they desperately needed changes. So, they saw that they had no other choice but to put Trump in office, whether they liked the man or not. But why were so many people unhappy with Biden and his administration? Well, as it turns out, Trump has a divining rod, and he is able to identify the groups of people who suffer the most from major problems. Then, he speaks directly to them, saying that he will solve their problems as president. What are the problems and who is affected by them?

Eggs, Coffee, Milk…

There was a strategist named James Carville who worked for Bill Clinton as part of his presidential campaign. He was asked about the most important messages for the campaign to focus on. He had three messages, but one spread rapidly, and that message is still in use. "It's the economy, stupid!" Carville said. People were not happy with the economy at the time, and therefore, the Clinton campaign should focus on the economy, and their plan to improve it. That plan was a great success at that time and Clinton won the presidency.

Trump was also able to focus on the economy, and get his message across in a simple way, aimed at those who were struggling financially. He shared an information graphic on his social media ('Truth Social'), claiming that many items were much more expensive now with Kamala Harris as vice president, than when Trump was president. He mentioned salmon, coffee, potatoes, cheese, milk, ham and eggs, and the increase in price from when Biden came in as president. While the details are debatable, his message was very clear – it's harder to put food on the table now with Biden and Harris in charge. That message had a great impact on people in the country who were struggling and who were living from hand to mouth.

The Working Class/Gen Z

Before 1992 and the presidency of Bill Clinton, the Democratic Party was the party of the working class. But Clinton moved his party towards the right wing and big business, and things have continued that way ever since. With that, they lost members of the working class, bit by bit. Often, these people were conflicted and were swing voters. Things got worse for them during the Biden period, when prices increased significantly, so that they were barely able to survive. They blamed Biden and his party and cast their votes for the Republicans.

Young people of Gen Z (18-27 years old), regardless of their class, had the same problem, as they wanted to achieve their independence, but were unable to do so, due to the cost of living. Many of them were voting for the first time.

The Republicans asked people the question: "Are things better for you now than four years ago?" For a large portion of the working class and for Gen Z, things are no better, and they are suffering because of it. According to them, instead of helping them, the Democrats were ignoring them. The Democrats weren't even talking or listening to them. Why would they cast votes for the Democrats, then? And did not do so.

Trump spoke with Joe Rogan on his podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" for three hours. It's the most popular podcast in the United States with audiences over the age of thirteen. Trump was able to spread his message among the struggling people, blaming Biden and Harris, and saying that he would help them as president. There are many other examples of Republicans reaching out to the working class and Gen Z (for example on Hasan Piker's YouTube show) and saying that they knew the Democrats were ignoring them, but that the Republicans would help them so that things would be better for them from now on.

Lesson

Without a doubt, the Democrats took their eye off the ball. They were doing data analytics instead of focusing on the people of the country. They were not in contact with the ordinary people of the country and therefore did not understand what they desperately needed from them. It is time for the Democratic Party to do some soul-searching, in order to create a new inclusive approach that will tackle, on an urgent and practical basis, the biggest current problems facing the people of the country. To understand what is troubling them, the Party needs to reach out to them and then listen to what they are saying. It will be hard to earn their trust, and it will take time, but there is no other way for the Democrats to resurrect themselves.  

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There's no doubt in the world that Hanrahan’s Outlook is ingrained in us here in the United States of America, as no matter what aspect of the media you view, you can be sure that it won't be long before you hear this battle cry or a similar one being sung by someone from the Republican Party, issuing a dire warning about what will happen if Trump/Vance does not win the presidential election...

 “We’ll all be ruined (said Hanrahan),

Before the year is out.”

Talk about a negative attitude!

As everyone knows, the United States of America (USA) is stuffed to the gills with misinformation at the moment and if we want to escape the swamp of mud we are trapped in, we have no other choice but come to our senses, at there is no strength without unity. Don't our politicians need to tell the honest truth, and reveal their plans for how to improve things in the country? But, instead, members of the Republican Party are working hard, not to disprove and defeat negative myths and misinformation, but to invent and spread them! Every chance that Donald Trump and his colleagues get, they share a negative attitude about the Joe Biden Legislature and about the Democratic Party as loudly as possible.

"We will all be ruined if we vote for Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election. We'd better go a different route altogether, if we want to get out of this slush hole we're stuck in at the moment with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."

Now, we all understand that Donald Trump, JD Vance and members of their Party need to promote themselves and to blame the other side. But they throw ugly personal insults at Harris and Walz all the time. They also say things that are not true against them. And neither Trump nor Vance admit that Trump lost the last presidential election. And they don't have a plan in the least, either.

Here's a sample of a few things Donald Trump has been saying recently while campaigning:

Dogs and Geese

In the presidential debate between Trump and Harris, Trump said, with 67 million people watching: "In Springfield they are eating dogs," referring to the Ohio city where many legal immigrants from Haiti live. “They are eating the cats. They are eating … the pets of the people who live there. And this is what is happening in our country, and it is a great shame." Some time later, he was asked a question during an interview on Fox TV asking why he would not admit that such a thing was not taking place. “I don't know if that's true or not. What about the geese? What happened then? They are all missing.”

FEMA

The federal emergency management agency (FEMA) is responsible for providing disaster relief to communities affected by catastrophic disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and the like). After Hurricane Helene, FEMA workers were on the scene quickly, doing everything they could to help those badly hit by the hurricane. But Trump repeatedly said that FEMA had no money to help the victims. "They spent a lot of money bringing in illegal immigrants... They have no money for people who live here," said Trump. "They have spent the money on the illegal immigrants."

Shoplifters

Speaking at a recent rally in Pennsylvania, former president Trump said the key to preventing crimes like shoplifting is to allow the police to beat the thieves. "If you had one really violent day...a rough hour, and I mean really rough, the news would spread and it would be over immediately."

The enemy within

What Trump has to say about the citizens of his own country is cause for great concern. This is what he said on 'Fox News' recently. “We have some bad guys. We have some radical left wing lunatics. I think that would be very easy to handle with the National Guard, or if necessary, the military" And he said in another interview “We have a lot of bad people, but when you look at Shifty Schiff and some of the others, yes, they are, to me, the enemies within. I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy within.”

Conclusion

After reading the above (and they are just a few examples!), isn't it hard to believe that Trump has any chance of winning the presidential election? But if the polls are accurate, Trump and Harris are neck and neck so the outcome is unpredictable. Unbelievable!

Trump's former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, said that Trump is a fascist, according to the definition of the word, and would rule as a dictator if allowed, and that he had no understanding of the Constitution or the concept of the rule of law.

In my opinion, I agree with Trump on the enemy within – but I'm not talking about Adam Schiff or Nancy Pelosi, but about Trump himself. Trump is the enemy within. But it is not necessary to use the National Guard or the military to defeat him. Fortunately, we are able to do so peacefully and legally – at the ballot box. The voters in the decisive states - Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin and North Carolina - have a special duty. I urge the people of those states to think deeply before casting their votes - not only for themselves, but for everyone in the country, and for the future of the country. Trump has already shown his hand, and said what he would do as president from now on. With Trump as president, there is a good chance that we may no longer have a democratic country. Putting Trump in office is an irreversible change – don't do it!

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“Many forms of Government have been and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all the other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

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Fragile System

Democracy is always under threat. From time to time, the majority of the people realized that that fragile system had failed and that they had no other choice but to turn to some other effective system, which could make a definite decision which could then be acted on, regardless of and without interference from anyone. Something like this happened, probably, between the two World Wars, when certain countries sided with a dictatorship system, because certain people and certain groups in those countries saw the need for such, to deal with social and political difficulties.

L’Etat c’est Moi !

It goes without saying that such a system was also in place in the Age of Sovereignty, when the King of France could declare that he was the State ... "l'Etat c'est moi." In such a situation, no one was allowed to interfere with the King's decision, as his power was based on the principle that those same Kings received their power from God himself, and therefore, it was the duty of the citizen to accept the King's statute, on the understanding that it was God's will. However, that came and went, and today, not many powerful kings are left in this world, and Democracy is the system of government that is familiar to everyone. That does not make the system without fault, or above criticism because, when the chips are down, it has to restrict the freedom of the citizens, and legislate disciplinary laws, to gain complete control over the population for the good of their community. Another weakness in democracy is that it gives every opportunity to criminals, and extremists of all kinds, to practice their anti-social crafts under the eyes of the State itself. It becomes very difficult for the system to deal with them, as the system has to function in accordance with the law, while all those others are allowed to function without the slightest regard for those laws. Those stresses are clearly visible in America right now.

Attempt to assassinate Trump

We've all heard the news about the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. It is unbelievable that this is the second attempt to kill him within two months. Unfortunately, this is nothing new, and there have been many attempts to assassinate presidents and former presidents of the United States of America over the years. But why does this happen? There is no single reason. Sometimes, the assassin is not happy with his government and especially with the president. Other times, the killer is mentally ill and delusional. In any case, no politician should be killed, no matter the reason. No system would be able to function for long if that kind of failure was accepted, including Democracy.

Dangerous Times!

The democratic system is a fragile system, and the public has a duty to protect it at all times. They have to be involved and active. The public and their politicians need to resolve their differences peacefully, through negotiation and through the ballot boxes, instead of through violence. As we all know in Ireland, violence failed to solve any problem in Northern Ireland for 30 years (1968-1998). But after difficult negotiations between the two sides (loyalists and republicans), they decided to get rid of the guns, and use the ballot box instead. That peace process was successful with the as was the associated agreement - the Good Friday Agreement. Peace has prevailed in the North for the past 26 years and counting. Making a transition like that isn't easy, and it doesn't happen often. That's why things in America are so dangerous right now – violence against politicians increases the risks of things getting out of control.

Solutions?

What can be done to combat that problem in America? Undoubtedly, the secret service needs to be improved, and the government is currently working on that. While that is a good thing, the government is tilting at windmills if they don't tackle the root problem – assault weapons. It is estimated that there are up to 40 million of them in America right now, and there is nothing positive about that. Assault weapons (AR-15 for example) were banned from 1994 to 2004, but Congress refused to renew the ban then. Although the majority of the public is in favor of the ban, the legislation would not pass in the Senate at the moment because there would not be enough (60) senators for it. Perhaps it is time for all senators to put the country's interest before their own and do the right thing. And all politicians should also avoid making hateful statements and set a good example for their people.

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Introduction

I saw the first presidential debate this year, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. I wrote an article about that disastrous debate, in which I wrote: "In my opinion, the best thing for Joe Biden to do now is to withdraw from the race immediately - but the risk is small."

A few things transpired after that, which were promising. First, Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race. At first, he insisted that he was the only person who could defeat Trump. But it was clear that others did not agree with that, even people in his own party - the Democrats, and especially Nancy Pelosi - the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. Nancy Pelosi's opinion has a lot of authority, especially in this case. She is slightly older than Biden at 82 years old, and also, she recently resigned from her own position as Speaker, saying she would not seek the role again, after two four year terms in office (2007-2011 and 2019-2023). Eventually, Biden conceded the truth of his situation and pulled out. Then, the second significant thing happened, and all the Democrats supported Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate without any contest. She chose Tim Walz as her vice-presidential running mate and they soon began a vigorous campaign. Their campaign raised $361 million in August, nearly three times more than Trump's ($130 million). The gap between them narrowed in the polls until they were neck and neck. And then after working out a few details, Trump and Harris agreed to have an hour and a half long presidential debate.

The Debate

There was no similarity between this debate and the last one. At the start of the debate, Harris looked over to Trump and shook his hand. In this way, she made an important point that she was not afraid of him, but the opposite. That signal paved the way for what was to happen up on stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Here are four conclusions I drew from the debate.

1 Trump Weaknesses

Harris clearly highlighted Trump's fundamental weaknesses, which Biden was unable to do in the first debate, including:

2 Trump's lies

Trump told a whole bag of lies, and here are just a few examples:

3 A passionate case regarding abortion

Dúirt Harris go dtacaíonn sí le Roe v. Wade a athbhunú. “Tá sé maslach do mhná Mheiriceá. … Bíonn ar dhaoine oibre, mná oibre atá ag obair post nó dhó, a bhfuil orthu cúram leanaí a fháil gur ar éigean d’acmhainn dóibh, taisteal go stát eile ar eitleán, a bheith ina suí in aice le strainséirí, chun an cúram sláinte a theastaíonn uathu a fháil – ar éigean d’acmhainn dóibh. Agus tá sé neamhscrupallach iad a chur tríd sin.”

4 Príomhthéama Trump – Inimircigh gan doiciméad agus a gcoireanna

According to Republicans, the Democrats' immigration policies are their biggest weakness, and Trump has emphasized immigration matters as often as possible. Trump has told lie after lie on the subject, and I already mentioned one where he claimed immigrants were eating the pets in Springfied. Here are a few more examples of what he had to say about migration.

"They (Democrats) allowed criminals," Trump said, claiming without any evidence that there were "millions" of criminals. “They allowed terrorists. They allowed common street criminals. They allowed people to come in, drug dealers to come into our country.” Trump said at another point: “Bad immigration is the worst thing that could happen to our economy. They and she (Harris) are destroying our country with their policy. That's crazy.”

Conclusion

According to most analysts, Harris won the debate. I agree with that, but that does not mean that she will win the election. Hilary beat Trump in the three debates between them in 2016, according to the analysts and according to the public - but despite this, Trump won the presidential election. And while everyone knows about Trump and his approach, many people don't know much about Harris and the differences between Biden's policies and her own. Harris did a great job in the debate and that's a good step, but she still has a lot to do, and she doesn't have much time left to do it. As a positive ending, Taylor Swift posted her support for Harris to her followers (283 million) on Instagram, after the debate. That's not a bad thing!

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