In the final phase of the US presidential election campaign the tone has become increasingly acrimonious. Kamala Harris said she considers Donald Trump to be a fascist. And during a Republican campaign event, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe compared Puerto Rico to a 'floating island of garbage', a comment Trump's campaign team later distanced itself from. Europe's press looks on with consternation.
A step too far even for Trump voters?
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For Spotmedia (Romania), it's telling that Trump's team of advisers have publicly distanced themselves from the comedian's remarks:
“The unprecedented statement released by his team of advisers is an indication that the racist comment made at Trump's campaign rally has the potential to upset the Republican candidate's polling trend in the last week before the election. ... The reaction of Trump's campaign team suggests that the incident came at a surprising moment, carrying the risk that a large proportion of the Puerto Rican minority could switch to Kamala Harris.”
Her rival remains her best argument
Harris failed to shine with her own vision in the speech she announced as her closing argument, the taz (Germany) sighs:
“Once again, she focused on the person and agenda of her rival Donald Trump. The speech was symptomatic of the entire abbreviated election campaign that Harris was able to conduct after Joe Biden withdrew from the race. ... It is indeed worrying when a woman who could make history as the first black female presidential candidate says the best reason to vote for her is that her opponent is Donald Trump. Something has gone very wrong here.”
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Profound mistrust of the other side
The harsh words used in the campaign reflect the deep division in US society, Večernji (Croatia) list points out:
“Many US minorities believe that Trump and his supporters are indeed racists who, in turn, consider minorities - in this case Puerto Ricans - to be 'garbage'. Democrats have been warning for years that Republicans would pursue racist policies, especially under a Trump leadership. For their part, conservative voters believe that the liberal Democratic elites in Washington, exemplified by Biden and Harris, consider all conservatives to be 'garbage', 'scum' and 'dumb racists'.”
People are defined by collective hatred
Sydsvenskan (Sveden) fears long-term problems:
“Studies show that 'collective hatred' has a unifying power. People who hate together feel a sense of belonging and experience hatred as something that gives their life meaning. Populists - both right-wing and left-wing - play on people's fears and anger in order to win them over. The more hateful, aggressive rhetoric is normalised, the further the boundaries are pushed. We are seeing this now. ... Irrespective of the outcome of the election, for the foreseeable future it will be difficult for Americans to come together across lines of political affiliation and be united by anything other than hate, fear and anger.”
Still time for Obama to pull a trick out of the hat
The election will be a nail-biter until the very end, Alexei Roshchin (Russia) writes on Facebook:
“The US election takes place in just six days' time. The outcome seems clear from the polls – Trump has a comfortable lead. ... What will those who want Kamala to win do now? What will they come up with? I have faith in Barack Obama – he is very creative. ... What trick will they pull out of the hat six days from now? It's all very exciting! I think we are in for the most interesting and unpredictable election in US history! Let's stock up on the popcorn and wait. It's remarkable that tickets aren't being sold for the broadcasts from American polling stations. I would pay.”
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