Opinion

A Trump loss could stabilise US politics for a generation

The lesson of 2024 so far is that American populists have no replacement for the former president’s star power. Donald Trump has political superpowers almost unique to him.

Janan GaneshContributor

Sep 4, 2024 – 9.44am

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There is such a thing as an unimportant US presidential election. Had Bill Clinton lost to Bob Dole in 1996, or George W. Bush to John Kerry on the other side of the millennium, there is no reason to believe we would now inhabit a greatly different world.

So when I suggest that November 5, 2024 is a hinge moment in history, don’t murmur: “Journalists say this every damn time.”

Financial Times

Janan Ganesh is the principal political columnist for the Financial Times.