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2020-10-31
Martin Wolf
:
US Global Role at Stake in This
Election
<
https://www.ft.com/content/
61e731be-dc67-476a-bdd8-eab4e4d34007
>:
‘This US election is the most important since
1932,
when
Franklin Delano Roosevelt became
president in the depths of the Depression. With
much trial and error, FDR saved democracy, at
home and abroad
…
‘
The re-election of Donald Trump would undo
much, if not all, of that legacy. Yet his defeat
would not end the danger. If that is to happen,
American politics has to be transformed.
‘
This election is so important, because the US
plays a unique role in the world. It has long
been the paramount model of a functioning
liberal democracy, leader of the countries that
share these values and an essential player in
resolving any big global challenge. The re-
election of Mr Trump would signify a rejection
of all three roles.... FDR...
‘
In his State of the Union address of 6 January
Martin Wolf
:
US Global Role at Stake in This Election
<
https://www.ft.com/content/61e731be-dc67-476a-bdd8-eab4e4d34007
> <
https://www.icloud.com/keynote/0hyYd_ySdCyLyX4IseQV6_I4A
>
1941, he committed the US to promoting four
freedoms: freedom of speech; freedom of
worship; freedom from want; and freedom
from fear. These were not idle vows. Over the
ensuing half century, the world experienced a
great spread of democracy and reduction in
poverty. Neither would have happened without
the institutions the US created, the habit of co-
operation it promoted and the prosperity it
spread....
‘
Constructive and competent leadership by a
democratic US is needed more than ever.... Mr
Trump cannot lead such a US. His defeat
would not, however, end the threat of US
retreat. His party would again do everything it
can to thwart a Democratic administration.
The strategy of “pluto-populism”—the
marriage of solipsistic wealth to white middle-
class rage—would persist, with the help of the
Supreme Court. Whatever happens in the
election, the US role in the world will remain
in question…
Martin Wolf
