Trump's Underdog Status Defined 2024 Race, But Biden ‘Can Do a Lot of Damage’ From Now Until Jan. 20

“A lot of the factors favor former president Donald Trump right now rather than Kamala Harris: particularly, Americans trust the Republicans on the economy, they trust them on the border, they trust them on inflation - that kind of thing. And keep in mind that Kamala Harris has been running her election bid for 16 weeks. Donald Trump, in a sense, has been running for president for the past nine years. So, you know, he is well known to the American people,” Dr. Siracusa, dean of Global Futures at the faculty of humanities at Curtin University, told Sputnik.

Then there’s the factor of the attacks Trump has faced from Democrats, both during his first term and over the past four years since 2020.

“They weaponized the Justice Department. They impeached him twice. They threw the FBI at him. They got him arrested and convicted in the state of New York. It was all political theater, as a matter of fact. Americans can see that they all ganged up on Donald Trump. Donald Trump's not that likable a figure, actually. But when the system goes up against an individual, Americans tend to cheer for the underdog,” Siracusa said.

But whoever comes out on top Tuesday, Dr. Siracusa emphasized that between now and January 20, 2025, when the next president is sworn in and steps into the Oval Office, a lot of damage can be done, both inside the US and internationally, by its current occupant, whose obvious loss of cognitive abilities was ignored by the media for much of the past year before the sudden ‘realization’ this summer after his debate with Trump.

“I think the most important thing about this election, whoever wins, is what happens between today and January 20 when there’s a changeover in power, because President Biden can still do a great deal of damage. You know, his policies in Ukraine have been contested. And Donald Trump has made it very clear that he’s going to be working with Putin to end this war as soon as possible,” the professor stressed, saying a similar case can be made for the situations in the Middle East, and tensions in Asia.

“There are a lot of things at stake here, a lot of reputations. And a lot of people in Washington don't want to see Donald Trump come in because he looks like he's going to change the rules of the game and they don't want to change the rules of the game. I mean, a lot of these intelligence agencies, the foreign policy elite and the political elite, they're just doing their own thing and the American people follow suit,” Siracusa said.

White House Not Enough

If Trump does manage to come out on top in the race for the presidency, there are “two other factors at play” which require attention: his need for political “coattails” in the House and Senate, says political commentator and Newsmax columnist Michael Shannon.

“We have a very small majority in the House now, and we're led by a very ‘small’ speaker. So we need to get a larger majority in the House and we need to get rid of that pipsqueak, Mike Johnson, who's currently the speaker, and get someone in there who will be an ally and fight with Trump,” Shannon told Sputnik, referencing the year-long running battles between Johnson and hardcore MAGA Republicans over an array of foreign and domestic policy issues, from spending on foreign wars to an implicit deal with Democrats in September to keep the government funded.

“Then in the Senate, we need to take the Senate over by taking, I think we need to turn two or three Senate seats. But even better than that would be get, say, 54 senators. And at that point, Trump needs to meet with the Republican senators and tell them how the cow ate the cabbage, and that he's not going to tolerate another majority leader like ‘Glitch’ McConnell, who is stepping down, who will undermine the Trump agenda. He needs to simply tell the senators, assuming they get the majority, that they're either going to be on the Trump train or they're going to be under the Trump Train because the voters, if they give him the mandate, which I think is entirely possible, then these people need to get off the dime and get with the MAGA movement,” the commentator emphasized.

Pointing to the latest reports of voting “irregularities” and “glitches” related to voting machines and mail-in ballots in key swing states, Shannon highlighted the issue as a problem that continue to plague America’s elections “until someone goes to jail” for manipulations and the country returns to Election Day voting.

“This has to stop. We have to go back to same day voting. The only absentee ballots are for the military and for government employees who are deployed overseas. Otherwise, you need to get down to the polls on Election Day and vote. Preferably with a paper ballot. Everything is counted by about 9:30 or 10 pm like we did for decades here in the United States,” he said.

With that said, Trump has gotten a lot of momentum in the 2024 race, in part thanks to his razor-close brush with death at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, Shannon believes.

“You have to remember, Trump has had these three iconic things happen to him in this campaign that, to my knowledge, has never happened to another candidate. First of all, he's shot and you've got that picture with his fist up and he's telling the voters ‘fight, fight, fight!’ And then you've got a picture of him in McDonald's, which was just a classic photo. And then the final picture was him in a in a rally with the garbage man's vest on,” Shannon said, referring to the candidate’s Wisconsin rally appearance with the vest on following President Biden’s instantly infamous gaffe appearing to call Trump’s supporters “garbage” days just before the election.

Trump “has struck a nerve” with swing voters this election cycle, and has a strong chance to flip major swing states, the observer believes.

“But again, he needs to have enough momentum to pull other down ballot Republican candidates with him. If he wins, but doesn’t have a Republican House and a Republican Senate, he’s going to be hamstrung again,” Shannon summed up.

Analysis

EXPOSED: Who Tried to Kill Trump?

2 November, 19:00 GMT