(Dayton) Former US President Donald Trump, who is flirting with a new bid for the White House, on Monday evening promised a “very big announcement” for next week as Americans prepare to vote on Tuesday for crucial midterm elections.
Posted at 10:26
Updated at 10:32 p.m.
“I will make a very big announcement Tuesday, November 15 at Mar-a-Lago”, his residence in Florida, announced the Republican billionaire during a campaign rally in Ohio, on the eve of mid-term elections. mandate decisive for his political future and that of Joe Biden.
Until the last moment, Donald Trump had cast doubt on a possible candidacy announced on Monday evening. But he assured not wanting to steal the show from the candidates he dubbed.
Faced with a tide of red caps, the 76-year-old ex-president painted an extremely bleak picture of America under Joe Biden on Monday evening. A country where soaring prices “strangle households”, where “violent crime is out of control” and where the far left “indoctrinates our children”.
“There is only one solution to put an end to this madness”, pleaded the American billionaire. “If you want to end the destruction of our country and save the American dream, you must vote Republican tomorrow,” he said.
The Americans are called upon during this election to renew the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. A whole series of local elected positions, which decide their state’s policies on abortion or environmental regulation, in particular, are also at stake.
The campaign for this multitude of votes gathered under the name of “midterms” will have until the last hours taken on the appearance of a second round of the 2020 match.
“Democracy in danger”
PHOTO SUSAN WALSH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Joe Biden’s speech on the eve of the midterm elections
Donald Trump’s rally came in direct competition with that of Joe Biden, organized a few minutes earlier in a historically black university in Maryland, on the outskirts of Washington, during which the president urged Americans to “defend democracy”.
“We viscerally know that our democracy is in danger,” assured the 79-year-old Democratic leader, as Republican candidates in these elections threaten to contest a possible defeat.
The Democratic camp has therefore, beyond these economic subjects, sought to the end to portray the Republican Party as a threat to democracy and social achievements such as the right to abortion.
Whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen. Or if the well-known saying of an adviser to former President Bill Clinton will be verified again, namely that in elections, it is always “the economy that counts” (“It’s the economy, stupid”).
After his rally, the president once again assured that he was “optimistic” about the outcome of the ballot. He conceded, however, that keeping control of the House would be “difficult”.
2020 remake?
Republicans believe they can not only take the House of Representatives, which is the classic scenario in these traditionally difficult elections for the party in the White House. But also snatch Joe Biden’s slim control of the powerful Senate.
Faced with the effectiveness of a Republican campaign centered on galloping inflation, Joe Biden had a hard time touting his purchasing power reforms, which will only be felt in several years.
Losing control of both houses of Congress would have serious consequences for the Democrat, who has so far said he intends to run again in 2024, foreshadowing a possible remake of the 2020 duel.
However, the prospect does not appeal to all Democrats, due to his age – soon to be 80 – and his unpopularity.