The campaign for the November 5 presidential election continues in the United States. Almost a month before the election, the race remains close: the voting intentions attributed to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris have stabilized.
On average, the vice-president is credited with 49.9% in opinion surveys, compared to 46.2% for former Republican President Donald Trump, according to calculations indicated this Sunday, September 29 by the British media The Economist. And everyone is redoubling their efforts in the media to tip the scales.
Small phrases, political support or attacks via media… With international news dominated by tensions in the Middle East, it can be difficult to follow the race for the White House. L’Express summarizes the main news of the week for you.
Phrase of the week: Trump does not “see himself” running again in 2028
The week started strong. Sunday, September 22, former President Donald Trump expressed his doubts about his participation in a new presidential campaign in 2028. Passing in the Sunday political show Full Measurethe 78-year-old Republican candidate has ruled out running for the 2028 US presidential election in the event of defeat in the November election.
A decision made several times at the end of the show: “No, I don’t see myself there, I don’t see myself there. I think that will be all. I can’t imagine that at all”, added former president. Donald Trump, however, concluded his response by specifying that he hoped for “success” at the polls on November 5. The billionaire has therefore not yet given up.
Moment of the week: Harris does her first solo TV interview
Faced with Donald Trump’s refusal to debate with her again, Kamala Harris occupies the small screen alone. The Democratic candidate gave her first solo television interview on Wednesday September 25 since entering the race. During this interview, broadcast on the American channel MSNBCthe outgoing vice-president notably attacked Donald Trump on the theme of the economy, aware that her opponent is considered by many voters as the best candidate on this subject.
She thus accused her rival of having left the presidency in 2021 with “the worst economy since the Great Depression”, and of being “not serious” with his plan to increase taxes on certain imported goods. “However, Harris declined to answer how she would carry out some of her own economic plans, instead focusing her responses on Trump’s recent statements,” tempered the American media CNN on Wednesday.
Threat of the week: Trump wants to attack Google if he wins
For his part, Donald Trump denounced this week media coverage that was unfavorable to him. The American billionaire threatened on Friday September 27 to sue the web giant Google in the event of victory, accusing the multinational of putting forward articles with “contemptuous titles” for him and mentioning “only positive things” about his Democratic opponent. A question already at the heart of the campaign: at the beginning of September, Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant had been pinned for his accidental preferential treatment of Kamala Harris.
The Republican candidate goes further this time, on his Truth Social network: he believes that “Google illegally used a system to only offer negative publications for Donald J. Trump, some invented for the occasion”, during a search with the keywords “Donald Trump presidential race 2024”. Asked by AFP, Google affirmed that, apart from this specific query, the official sites of the two candidates generally appeared at the top of the results.
Promo of the week: Melania Trump campaigning for her book
Since Sunday, Melania Trump has broken the silence for the highly anticipated publication of her book. To promote her memoir, to be released on October 8, the 54-year-old former First Lady and model published a video series on his social networks. “As a reserved person […] whose actions are caricatured, I feel the responsibility to clarify the facts,” she declares in one of her black and white clips.
Melania Trump notably mentions several recent events on which she had little or no comment, such as the assassination attempt against her husband in July. For Professor Katherine Jellison, interviewed by AFP, it is a way of “cultivating an image of a strong woman, master of her life and her destiny”. According to this specialist in presidential couples, it would be for this same reason that Melania Trump has so far “played no role in the campaign [présidentielle] of 2024” from her husband.
The focus of the week: these figures of the Trump clan who are active behind the scenes
Conversely, several figures from Donald Trump’s family work in the shadows and seek the light. This is the subject of our focus this week: which figures from his clan can Donald Trump rely on for his 2024 campaign? Our correspondent in Washington, Hélène Vissière, looked in particular at the Lara Trump case.
Daughter-in-law of the ex-president and wife of Eric, his youngest son, this 41-year-old gym addict now has control of the finances of the Republican Party, since her election as co-president of the National Committee . And this, while laying off dozens of employees and surrounding himself with loyal Trumpists. If the appointment of close people in his party is not unusual for a former Republican president, Lara Trump stands out for her omnipresence in the media, like her husband Eric and Don Jr. The Republican campaign therefore has everything of a family affair.
The setback of the week: a new report highlights the flaws of the Secret Service
Another notable event of the week: the publication on Wednesday September 25 of a report from the American Senate highlighting the failures of the American secret services during the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania last July. On 93 pages, this document resulting from bipartisan work between Democratic and Republican senators criticizes the professionalism of the Secret Service, then responsible for protecting the Republican candidate.
Thus, the circumstances which allowed the shooter to open fire during this meeting would have been “foreseeable, avoidable, and directly linked to the events which led to the assassination attempt that day”. Ten days after the event, the director of the American secret service resigned in response to criticism. And the case of the Secret Service could worsen in the future: Congressional parliamentarians will also look into the second assassination attempt against Donald Trump, which occurred in September on his golf course in Florida.
The surprise guest of the week: but what happened to Donald Trump?
Finally, the American political week ended with an unexpected event: Donald Trump’s strange complaint against a fly, on the stage of a meeting in Wisconsin this Saturday, September 28. In the middle of his speech, the former Republican president radically changed the subject to point the finger at the surprise guest: “Oh, there’s a fly. I wonder where the fly came from?”
After a few laughs in the audience, this banal remark could have stopped there. However, the 78-year-old ex-president continued: “You see, two years ago, I wouldn’t have had a fly here. You change quickly. But we can’t stand this any longer… We can’t stand “It takes hundreds of years to build the unique personality of the United States. Hundreds of years, and it goes on forever,” he said evasively.
A strange remark that questions political commentators. In a message on the social networkthe pro-Democratic support group American Bridge 21st Century believes that “Trump is exhausted and is having trouble staying on track. He starts a story about a hat, but gets distracted by a fly and doesn’t never ends.” Even without outgoing President Joe Biden, the issue of age is never far away in this presidential campaign.