A similar narrative surrounds the absence of conflict between Israel and Hamas during Trump’s presidency. The peace in the Middle East during Trump’s tenure is credited to his role in the Abraham Accords agreement that had helped foster peace in the Middle East and was underpinned by the origin of the three main religions in the region – Judaism, Islam, and Christianity traced to Abraham. These agreements eased tensions between Arabs and Jews, even leading to unprecedented cooperation between Israeli and Arab airlines. However, about a year ago, on October 7, under the watch of Biden and Harris, Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israel, leading to a large-scale Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza, resulting in over 40,000 Palestinian casualties and widespread destruction of infrastructure in Gaza.
Trump and Harris
Consequently, the U.S. and the rest of the world have been struggling to prevent further degeneration of the raging conflict in the Middle East region.
Despite these advantages for the 45th president, Donald J. Trump’s potential comeback as the 47th president, Democratic strategist James Carville remains confident and in a recent New York Times piece, he expressed belief that Kamala Harris would emerge victorious in the November 5 election.
Similarly, CNN has been showing bias towards the DNC and Kamala Harris, particularly through programs like Fareed Zakaria’s GPS. In an episode on October 20, Zakaria appealed to Black voters to support Harris by emphasizing the high educational attainment of Nigerian Americans, an attempt to attract African American support, especially the men that Harris has struggled to secure. Recent polls show Harris has 10% less support among Black men than Joe Biden had at the same point in his campaign four years ago.
This has prompted frustration from former President Barack and ex-First Lady Michelle Obama, who question why Black voters are not rallying behind Kamala Harris but instead gravitate towards Trump. Fareed Zakaria in his program highlighted the fact that Nigerians in the diaspora are known for their high levels of education, both in the U.S. and Europe, with many holding prominent roles, such as Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo in the U.S. and Kemi Badenoch in the UK who is vying for the leadership of the Tory.
The truth is that historically, many Nigerians intentionally traveled abroad to seek education rather than migrating for economic reasons—a shift seen today with the ‘Japa’ phenomenon, where many leave Nigeria seeking better opportunities amid economic hardship at home
This is the reason Nigerians in the diaspora are highly educated.
Now, it is worth noting that no country wants to admit individuals who are immigrants without useful skills who might become a societal burden, which is why Trump has campaigned against admitting unskilled immigrants. However, he supports immigration for skilled workers, consistent with America’s identity as a nation built by immigrants. Mr. Trump himself traces his roots to Scotland, President Biden to Ireland, and Vice President Kamala Harris could reference her Jamaican heritage. Yet, based on records she has often emphasized her Indian heritage over her Jamaican background, which some Black voters see as distancing herself from a Black identity and contributing to their disconnect with her campaign.
So, it remains uncertain whether the combined efforts of influential figures like the Obamas, Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, and other Black celebrities campaigning for Kamala Harris will sway strong support for Trump among Black voters. Regarding the growing anti-immigration sentiment worldwide, as observed in countries like the UK, France, and Germany, it’s important to recall Nigeria’s expulsion of Ghanaians in the mid-1980s under General Muhammadu Buhari. During that time, both unskilled and skilled Ghanaian workers, such as teachers and doctors, were sent back to Ghana, leading to the emergence of the term ‘Ghana- Must-Go’ bag.
More recently, South Africa has shown xenophobic tendencies by expelling other Africans, including Nigerians, accusing them of taking jobs from them and committing crimes. Ghanaians have also restricted Nigerian businesses in their clime, and the UAE, especially Dubai, has expelled many Africans, including Nigerians, for similar reasons. This aligns with and justifies Trump’s stance on preventing illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. and highlighting the reality that the issue of blocking illegal immigration has become a global phenomenon.
In light of the above, efforts to attract African and Nigerian-American voters to support the DNC and Kamala Harris by criticizing Trump’s anti-illegal immigration stance, as Fareed Zakaria attempted on his show, might not significantly benefit Harris. Although current polls conducted by CNN indicate that she and Trump are tied at 47%, despite the monumental obstacles placed on the path to the White House for Trump. After all, is said and done, some potential voters do not display their political leaning publicly as they often want to be seen as politically correct and keep their political inclinations to themselves. It is such voters that may swing the election in favor of Trump.
Kamala Harris’s difficulty in securing Black votes is not without cause. Conversations with Black American men reveal lingering resentment over her time as California’s Attorney General, where she was seen as disproportionately harsh toward Black people. Many believe this harshness may stem from unresolved personal issues with her Jamaican father, who left her Indian mother to raise her and her sister alone.
As a result, some Black Americans remember her as being unsympathetic before her rise in national politics as a senator and now as the DNC’s presidential candidate. Additionally, many Black men are drawn to Trump’s blunt and direct manner, feeling that he would be a more authentic leader than Harris, whom they view as shifting her stance based on political convenience.
Without a doubt, the U.S. presidential election holds global significance due to the country’s status as the world’s most powerful nation and largest economy. But it is also to its outcome degenerate into violence as was the case on January 6, 2020.
I find former President Donald Trump, the RNC’s 2024 candidate, appealing due to his straightforwardness—something not often seen in politicians. Like many Americans, I am less familiar with Vice President Kamala Harris, making it difficult to endorse her. This lack of familiarity is also why many Black men view voting for her as a leap into uncertainty.
As a scholar in the international relations space, I have closely followed global politics and the U.S. elections. My observations suggest that Trump is not a conventional politician, having only entered the political arena about a decade ago. During his presidency from 2016 to 2020, he approached governance as an outsider, challenging the traditional “business as usual” mindset that has characterized U.S. politics since its founding in 1776. This divergence from the norm has led to push back from traditionalists who see him as a threat to democracy due to his unconventional style.
A similar resistance faced the 40th U.S. President, Ronald Reagan, though he had prior political experience as a two-term governor of California before becoming president in 1981 and serving until 1989. Likewise, many U.S. allies, particularly NATO members, appear to favor a Harris victory, preferring the more traditional diplomatic approach seen during Joe Biden’s administration than Trump that would make them take more responsibility for the protection of Europe against aggressors such as Russia, etc.
It may be recalled that during Trump’s presidency from 2016 to 2020, he pushed NATO members to fulfill their financial commitments, easing a burden that had largely been carried by the U.S. The former NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, acknowledged that the alliance’s funding improved due to Trump’s pressure. Understandably, some NATO members and global leaders might feel uneasy about the possibility of Trump returning to the White House in January 2025.
Expectedly, the world is paying close attention to the election, as whoever becomes the U.S. president will hold considerable global influence, almost serving as a de facto leader of the world. That is why the issue of misinformation and disinformation threatening the integrity of the exercise become so concerning that U.S. authorities recently announced a $10,000 reward for tips on individuals spreading false information that could impact the November 5 presidential election.
Having obtained our presidential system of government franchise from the U.S., there are a couple of lessons that as a country we can learn from the 2024 presidential election campaign in the U.S.
The world’s richest man Elon Musk openly campaigned for and massively funded Trump’s campaign as other billionaires equally did Harris’s campaign without fear.
That is because between the two candidates, whoever triumphs at the polls, none of those who funded the candidates will face reprisal actions or be victimized. After all, they are protected by strong laws and institutions against strong men.
In Nigeria, can Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, or Allen Onyema fund the campaign of a presidential candidate openly and his business continue to thrive if his candidate loses?
Dear readers your guess is as good as mine, but I look forward to that day.
Circling back to the ongoing keenly contested and highly consequential U.S. election, ultimately, as the mail-in voting has commenced, it will be up to American voters to choose their next president on November 5, despite the challenges posed by misinformation. It is hoped that the efforts that have been made to guarantee the sanctity of the electioneering system will help ensure a fair and secure voting process.
Be that as it may, it is rather dismaying that the impending 2024 presidential election does not inspire much confidence as it is currently looking like a typical electioneering process hitherto endemic to Africa because the ballot drop boxes in some states that are already stuffed with votes due to early voting are being set on fire by nefarious ambassadors, reminiscent of how ballot snatching, burning and stuffing during elections in Africa define an otherwise civic exercise.
During the last presidential election circle in the U.S. (2020), massive violence trailed the allegation of fraud by former President Donald Trump who was then the incumbent president against the declared winner, Joe Biden.
Before then, in 2016, Senator Hillary Clinton had protested her loss to Mr. Trump by alleging election fraud.
But her protest did not trigger the sort of violence that ensued in January 2020 setting off a firestorm of sorts in Capitol Hill, the seat of power for the legislators/ Congress in the US leading to the death of a protester, injuring of policemen, and resulting in the death of a few after the incident and extensive damage to the Capitol Hill infrastructure. The presidential contest between George Bush Jnr and former Vice President Al Gore in 2000 was also contested in court at the Supreme Court level owing to alleged fraud in ballot counting in Florida where Jeb Bush, brother to George Bush Jnr was governor. So, elections in the U.S. have become progressively fractious and violent in a manner that mimics the situation in nascent democracies in Africa.
As the conventional wisdom goes, the morning foretells the night, so it is ominous, and people are apprehensive if the November 5 polls might end up in a fiasco as was the case in 2020 or have a happy ending with the 45th president returning to the White House as the 47th president.