La Cause du Peuple on the elections in the United States

We hereby share an unofficial translation of an article published by La Cause du Peuple.

United States: the election of Trump and the presidential absolutism

Trump and the Republican Party won the elections on November 5 in United States. Since January they will have the majority in all the chambers of the Congress, as well as the presidency. This situation will allow them to rule with free hands.

The entire world out a sight every four years towards the United States to witness a sad and tragicomic spectacle, one election impulsed through concerts, spectacles and politicians who are nothing else than caricatures of themselves. On the one hand, Harris, a parody of the “middle class”, portrayed by the establishment of the “Democrats”, incapable to convince the masses to continue trusting it; on the other hand, Trump, an ultra-reactionary opportunist, capable to disregard on everything. Trump was who decisively won, with 75 million votes; despite the almost 90 million abstentions.

90 million Americans who did not vote, 10 to 15 million more than during the record mobilization of 2020, even though in the USA, the people can vote for weeks, by letter, remotely… And despite the beaten Democrats who wrote everywhere not “Vote Harris” but simply “Vote!”, because they were convinced that they would win if the abstention was low. Dark mistake on their part, as thousands of activists brought the boycott of the election to many masses due to the Biden’s genocidal policy in Palestine.

But enough election analysis. Let’s look at what the Trump presidency is planning. It is important to look carefully at the process of reactionarization in the US, because it is full of lessons for the French situation. The role of the presidency is essential in both cases, and in many examples, despite very clear appearances, the deepening of the political crisis in the US is much more gradual and relative than the violent restructurings in France (for example the dissolution of last summer). These in-depth studies are, therefore, full of lessons on the way in which the imperialists handle the crisis which is confirmed in order to ensure their relative maintenance in place. Like quicksand, those who struggle the most are those who sink first.

The meeting between Trump and Biden at the White House and their respective speeches confirm that the US State is the State of the imperialist bourgeoisie, and that Democrat or Republican does not imply much other than a change of name. The transition will be peaceful, because the same class will remain in power, politics will just be more openly reactionary. However, the process of strengthening presidential absolutism will develop. Biden presidency did not allowed that.

So the most important example at the moment, before Trump takes over the presidency in January, is that of appointments to his cabinet, the equivalent of ministries, which tend to be much more stable in the US than in France. Despite the domination of the Republican Party in all chambers, Trump sent a message to Republican senators: excuse me from your agreement for appointments to my cabinet!

This historic and mandatory power of the American Senate, a demo-liberal principle of American bourgeois democracy, is being denied, like other principles, by Trump, even before the start of his mandate.

This sets the tendency: Trump will continue to strengthen US presidential absolutism, in order to maintain the course on the aggressive economic and social policy implemented first under his administration in 2016 (“Trade War” with China) then by Biden (massive State investment plan to attract US and European capital in projects on American territory, the “Green New Deal”) and continue and strengthen the oppression of the peoples all over the world: this is how we must understand his unwavering support to the Zionists and his firm position during the electoral campaign on war and peace in Ukraine.