Are the Trump years over? The midterms in the USA have mixed things up with the Republicans. Polls had predicted overwhelming success for the party. But these stayed away. Radical candidates supported by ex-President Donald Trump in particular were disappointing. And then his biggest rival, Ron DeSantis, of all people, emerged stronger from the midterm elections.
This is how the German and international press evaluated the outcome of the US midterm elections:
“Westfälische Nachrichten” (Münster): “Where has it gone, the ‘red wave’ that was supposed to roll over the USA? The Republicans, who stand for this color, had announced it for weeks – reinforced by weak poll numbers for US President Joe Biden But their main protagonist, Donald Trump, of all people, was unable to use the momentum for a paradigm shift in the country. Although many of the decisive races were very close – the ‘red wave’ turns out to be a relatively harmless trickle, with a lot of ‘blue’ from the Democrats washed through.”
“Stuttgarter Zeitung”: “The message of these midterm elections is not a lesson for Joe Biden, but a rejection of the Republicans’ Maga extremism and a referendum on the ex-president. Trump had announced before election day that he would take his hat off for a serious Throwing his White House candidacy in the ring, voters have made it clear to him they are not interested in his return to the limelight – and have little taste outside of Republican strongholds in candidates who question democracy, deny Covid, the cult of QAnon pay homage, take radical positions on abortion, or fantasize about population exchanges at the expense of white America.”
“Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Munich): “It’s about clarifying the question of all questions: What role will Donald Trump play in the upcoming presidential election? Will this man be able to get the country behind him again? The answer can come from the result of the midterm elections Trump is still the destructor, but his power is crumbling, his influence is waning, he’s becoming obsolete.”
“Märkische Oderzeitung” (Frankfurt/Oder): “A good day for the liberal democracies in the world. And a bad day for Donald Trump. Because the fact that the Republicans were probably not able to conquer the Senate at first has a lot to do with the candidates who the ex-president personally chose. But the voters in the key swing states didn’t want these Trumpists. The chances that this highly dangerous man will once again lead the largest economy and the most powerful military on the planet are significantly reduced. The USA will We are now experiencing two years of largely deadlock. That this is not the worst result for the country and its world partners shows how serious the situation was and is.”
“Allgemeine Zeitung” (Mainz): “In the future, every Republican president will be supported by a party that largely casts doubt on the DNA of American democracy. These are the irretrievable excesses of Trumpism, with which all democracies of the free world and which will radiate onto them. The fact that the midterm elections did not turn out to be the predicted Trump festivals will not dissuade the offended man from his plans to retake the White House. On the contrary: the announcement of his renewed candidacy for the primary elections of the Republican already in a few days has long been agreed.”
“Reutlinger General-Anzeiger”: “Once again, that went off lightly: the Republicans did not win as much as hoped. And the Democrats did not lose as much as feared. It is to be wished for Biden that in the last contested states his Democrats win the race and thus get the majority in Congress, because otherwise the President is threatened with a blockade in the second half of his term in office Europe would also suffer from such a paralyzed US policy: America’s financial and military aid to Ukraine would suddenly be in question, as would its commitment to combating climate change.”
“Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”: “The Republicans didn’t have a landslide victory. The race for a majority in the Senate will be decided in a photo finish. That’s good news for incumbent US President Joe Biden. The bad news: his Democrats will have the majority in the House of Representatives in all probability lose. This will make it much more difficult for Biden to implement his political agenda in the second half of his term in office. His government’s ability to act in foreign policy is also likely to be restricted – with possible financial consequences for assistance to Ukraine. So it will be for Biden and his party is struggling to make their mark ahead of the upcoming 2024 presidential election.”
“Badische Zeitung” (Freiburg): “The Republicans find themselves in a dilemma. The Grand Old Party, led by former President Donald Trump on a radical populist path, will in future be represented in the House of Representatives by a number of Trump protégés, who will also would declare the moon to be a square UFO if their idol ordered it. At the same time, in Pennsylvania, for example, a half-witted TV doctor by Trump’s grace lost to a democrat who was in poor health but seemed to have integrity. Was the proximity to Trump helpful or rather a deterrent? Increasingly That’s the one-million-dollar question of American politics. All the more so since Governor Ronald DeSantis has been sovereignly re-elected in Florida. DeSantis is considered a conservative hardliner, but without Trump’s ostentation and unpredictability. The ex-president who is willing to comeback promptly has chose his fellow party member as the favorite enemy of the moment.Trump had already worked in advance Republican victory he would have credited his account. He will blame the scattered handful of moderate Republicans for the moderate performance that is now emerging. Bending facts until they fit – Trump has always been a master at this. Still, not all Americans fall for him.”
“Rhein-Zeitung” (Koblenz): “The election result paints a different, more complex picture of the USA. There is also a lot of resentment and concern among Republicans in this country about the increasing radicalization of politics to the point of excess violence. That’s why Republicans are far from voting Democrats, that doesn’t end the deep divisions in US society. But there are small rays of hope in the long-simmering crisis of American democracy that give us some hope. But we shouldn’t let that blind us either. These midterm elections are just a preliminary skirmish for what the USA is facing in two years: the dirtiest and toughest election campaign of all time.From a German point of view it may make one despair, but nothing will stop Trump on the way to a renewed candidacy anytime soon – that’s what the poison of Trumpism has too crippled the Republicans already.”
“Neue Zürcher Zeitung” (Switzerland): “Rarely before have the American midterm elections been considered so groundbreaking for the much more important presidential race in two years’ time. Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump were on any ballot. However, the midterms are traditionally over a referendum the incumbent president, the extent of the defeat determines his future ability to act. A special feature this year was that they were also considered a test of the popularity of his predecessor. Trump clearly lost this long-distance duel. (…) That won’t deter him . The former president has fueled expectations that next week he will announce his inauguration in two years. That would be a gift for Democrats. Trump always mobilizes their voters more than any of his own candidates could.”
“de Volkskrant” (Netherlands): “How severe the damage is to Donald Trump and his plans to run again will depend on the final election results. But even if Trump disappears from the scene afterwards, many of his ideas will remain in his party ubiquitous for the time being. This is particularly evident in the man who now has an even better chance of taking the crown from Trump than before the midterms: Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor is a typical example of a second-generation Trumpist: just as radical, but younger, more calculating, and not as unpredictable as Trump. Most importantly, he didn’t lose two elections. Trump certainly did, even though he didn’t run this time.”
“The Telegraph” (England): “Donald Trump was not a candidate in the US midterm elections, but he dominated the campaign. The ex-president used the contest as a platform for the announcement of his candidacy for the upcoming week, which is expected one more term in the White House. However, things didn’t exactly go as planned for him.(…) While he is still expected to announce his bid for the presidency, the midterm results should give him pause First running for the Republican nomination in 2015, he was a political newcomer with the ability to catch his opponents flat-footed, but this time he’s a former incumbent whose record is under scrutiny, and not at that most recently his refusal to recognize the results of the last presidential election Republicans could still decide that (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis w ere would be better suited to retaking the White House. But to get that opportunity, he will have to fight tooth and nail against the most vicious opponents.”
“La Repubblica” (Italy): “The signal coming from the midterm elections is that American democracy has enough antibodies to withstand even the most vicious virus in the world, populism and political violence. The forecasts of a clear Republican victories and a resurgence of Trumpism have been refuted. There was no ‘red wave’, much less a tsunami, the waters just rippled a bit.(…) Although the final results are yet to be seen and there probably will be barrage of objections, the midterm elections effectively end in a tie. In a country so polarized and increasingly evil, that result equates to a victory for the incumbent president (and another defeat for the pollsters).”
“Público” (Portugal): “If the predictions are true, the Republicans will win, but they have no reason to attend the party that Donald Trump has prepared at his Florida mansion. For Joe Biden, the governing will definitely be That the expected red wave (the color of Republicans) was no more than a slight ripple may help restore confidence in American democracy, also as there are mounting signs that the forces of resistance to Republican radicalism is alive The progressive side of the USA has achieved successes: the election of a Democrat as young as 25, the defeat of Trump in Pennsylvania, the election of the first black governor of Maryland or the first lesbian governor of Massachusetts, and female voter turnout in Wisconsin for abortion rights There was no red carpet rolled out for Trumpism to address the power to return. Nothing is certain yet. But with the best interim result in recent decades, the Democrats are also showing that nothing is lost.”
“Sydsvenskan” (Sweden): “The overwhelming victory of the red camp, i.e. the Republicans in the USA, largely failed to materialize. President Joe Biden’s blue camp, the Democrats, experienced a much better election than predicted. It seems that ex-President Donald Trump’s grip on U.S. politics is loosening -finally- That would be liberating.The Republican candidates who persisted in lying about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election lost in many cases, not to mention many of those who showed their support for the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The latter is not least important for the future of democracy in the U.S. If the rules of the game of democracy survive in the United States –Â with respect for the electoral system and the counting of votes – then so-called election deniers can no longer spread their poison at the American grassroots.”
“Magyar Nemzet” (Hungary): “The political pendulum is swinging in the other direction, the question is how much. Obviously to a lesser extent than was generally assumed. (…) The outcome of the struggle for power in America, the world, Europe and Hungary cannot be indifferent. Should the rise of the (republican) right prove to be permanent, Hungarian diplomacy (under the guidance of right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban) may again find allies (in Washington) who emphasize national sovereignty rather than (like the Democrats) globalism (…). The world, in turn, awaits an American leadership that works not to prolong the horribly damaging war in Ukraine, but to end it.”
“Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace” (France): “Beyond the semi-Democratic defeat and the semi-Republican victory, both sides of American democracy have a challenge to overcome. In order to return to sanity and not burden the future of democracy, one has to hope that Republicans will choose to contain those who urge them to turn their backs on reality, and to do so they must eliminate (ex-President) Donald Trump, who is back at all costs White House wants to move in. (…) As for the Democrats, they need to reconnect with the working class, which has eluded them, even though it traditionally opens the door to the White House and secures them a majority in Congress.( …) Inflation, which hits the poorest hardest, has cost them votes and risks costing the party much more in the next presidential election about.”
“De Standaard” (Belgium): “The danger of a democratic meltdown has not yet been completely averted. A few more hardliners could still make marginal profits. However, should it turn out in the coming days that the dreaded ‘red tsunami’ is actually no more than one Republican wave, it would also be very good news for Europe and the rest of the world.. Imagine that: A US superpower led by a gang of extremist conspiracy theorists who, in times of war in the Ukraine doesn’t know if they’re allies or troublemakers. Don’t even think about it.”
“Wall Street Journal”: “Since his unexpected victory over the widely unpopular Hillary Clinton in 2016, Mr. Trump has had one election defeat after another. The Republican Party suffered a defeat in the 2018 midterm elections because of his poor approval ratings. Mr. Trump himself lost in 2020. He then thwarted a Republican win in Georgia’s 2021 Senate runoff by blaming party leaders there for failing to reverse his election defeat, giving Democrats control of the Senate (…) Now Mr. Trump has botched the 2022 election and could Give Democrats control of the Senate for another two years. Mr. Trump has had political gains as president, including tax cuts and deregulation, but he has led Republicans from one political fiasco to the next. ‘We’re going to win so much you’re going to get tired of winning’ , Mr. Trump once said. Maybe now Republicans are getting tired of losing ha ben.”
“Washington Post”: “Findings so far mean that down-to-earth leaders are organizing the 2024 presidential election in key states, making it difficult for Trump or any other candidate to intervene in the democratic process. In Arizona and Nevada, where Despite well-founded fears of disruption or even violence, the election itself was peaceful was also distinguished by the decency shown by many losers.(…) These hopeful signs are no reason for complacency.Post-election polls suggest a third of voters still believe Biden’s 2020 election was illegitimate.By 2024 the states should invest more in reliable electoral systems, voter education, election worker training investment and security. Congress should give more support to the states (…). But democracy and sanity scored some important victories on Tuesday. Americans should be relieved.”
