US Election October 21, 2024, WDR Interview: Walter anwers

The elections are approaching. How will you experience them? (Travel to the USA, no mail-in ballot this time, but in person)
We don’t trust the mail-in voting system. We are traveling to Florida to vote in person.

How do you feel about the elections?
I fear unrest before, during, and after the election, especially if Trump loses. The Republicans are currently planning legal action against the election results. This could be taken to the Supreme Court for a decision, similar to the election results of Al Gore and George W. Bush. The conservative majority of the Supreme Court could rule in favor of Trump.

Trump has already said that if he wins, he will be a dictator for a day. I don’t believe that. He will remain a dictator. He admires the power of Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un. They are his role models.

There are signs of total rule under Trump.

Hannah Arendt, a renowned political scientist of the 20th century, laid out the indicators of totalitarian rule in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism. We see these indicators point by point in the Republicans in the USA.

The spread of fear of immigrants, inflation, rising living costs, conspiracy theories, fear of Democrats and the Left, fear among Republicans that they could lose their country, fear that the free press is fake news and the enemy of the people, all divides the population and makes people more susceptible to Trump’s influence. Propaganda through Fox News, Truth Social, and other social media attempts to reshape reality to fit Trump’s narrative, rendering facts irrelevant. This manipulation of the truth disorients the population and further solidifies Trump’s power.

The massive indifference toward immigrants, as Hannah Arendt clearly pointed out in her book The Banality of Evil, is a key characteristic of totalitarian regimes.
Fox News is similar to the Völkischer Beobachter, Hitler’s propaganda organ.

If Trump wins, it is advisable for Europe to establish its own security guarantees, including its own nuclear deterrent.

How do you view Kamala Harris running instead of Joe Biden?
It was a good decision, but it came a little late because the public didn’t know enough about Kamala Harris. On the other hand, it disrupted the Republicans‘ plan since their entire strategy was aimed at Biden.

How do you assess Joe Biden’s term?
He has accomplished good things. Affordable healthcare access is Biden’s greatest achievement. He created 14.8 million new jobs, more than any other president in history. Net wealth has increased, inequality has decreased slightly, and real wages for low-wage earners are rising. The stock market is booming. He supported NATO and rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement to address climate change.

See the Video: Der letzte Ami in Bonn (WDR Lokalzeit aus Bonn. 28.10.2024. 29:19 Min.. Verfügbar bis 28.10.2026). WDR. Von Gisela Hartmann

Are you worried about the future of the USA?
If Trump wins, his policies of isolation and increased tariffs will lead to a depression similar to the 1930s under the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
Even if he loses, the nation is deeply divided. The image, credibility, and influence of the USA are already severely weakened.

After the last election, Donald Trump claimed that the election was „stolen,“ meaning that he actually won. This led to the storming of the Capitol. Do you fear something similar in the upcoming elections?
Yes, this could lead to unrest. American historian Arnold Toynbee once said, „Civilizations die by suicide, not murder.“

What do the elections mean for American society?
Whether the country’s democracy lives or dies.

What does Donald Trump and his style of politics mean for American society?
Chaos.

It is said that the elections also divide families. How is it in your family? Your children live in the USA…
Both of my sons are Democrats. My daughter is married to a Christian nationalist. Politics is a taboo topic there. They are really helpful and loving, but they are under the influence of a MAGA cult and can’t see beyond it.

Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1835:
“In every corner of America, you can find a fanatic promising the perfect path to paradise.”

There are many cults in America.
The Christian nationalist cult and others form the collective foundation of Trump’s MAGA cult. Trump says what these cults want to hear. Trump constantly lies, and his followers believe every word. They deceive themselves twice: they don’t believe what is true, and what is true, they don’t believe.
What did Schäuble once say? You can only weep!

Do you think there will be presidential campaigns in the future that are less polemical?
I am not optimistic, and that’s due to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2010 in Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Commission, where corporations were recognized as individuals. Corporations and individuals have the right to free speech, and one form of free speech is unlimited and anonymous campaign donations to Political Action Committees (PACs). These PACs support political candidates on various issues like gun laws, abortion, private prisons, and immigration. It’s unrealistic to believe that the government is a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The majority of Americans want to ban assault weapons. That won’t happen. The power of PACs and lobbyists is too great. Both parties take so-called dark money.

You are one of the last Americans in the American Settlement. What memories do you have?
Like living in heaven! I have very fond memories of the American Embassy Club.
After the embassy moved to Berlin, the club fell into disrepair. Now, the Montag Foundation is trying to revive the club as a place for democracy and art, a place for encounters, bringing its historical significance back into consciousness.

What does the American Settlement mean to you?
For us, it is one of the most livable places in the world. I feel at home here, part of German-American history.

Do you have a favorite place?
Yes, the Rheinaue… it’s right on my doorstep.