The news that Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, had withdrawn from the race for re-election, arrived with an aroma of hope, and a smile-inducing sound of America restored. It is too early to tell, for the American voter is very unpredictable. They may yet return Donald J. Trump to the White House.
However, from the despair and depression at the thought of Trump returning to the White House by default, one now feels elation and excitement at the prospect of Kamala Harris, the current Vice President of the United States, despatching Trump to where he belongs – far away from the leadership of a great nation that celebrates 250 years of independence two years from now.
Any student of the American Republic, especially its presidency since George Washington, knows that Donald Trump was among the worst men to hold that office. To me, he was the very worst, no matter by which measure one evaluates him.
A truth-poor leader, utterly disinterested in constitutionalism and the rule of law, fully committed to sowing discord and turmoil in his country, cynically exploiting humanity’s darkest instincts, envious of the world’s dictators and autocrats, all the while laser-focused on serving his personal interests, Trump has no equal in America’s house of political infamy.
Of America’s forty-six presidents, Trump belongs in the club of the worst-rated, among them James Buchanan, Warren Harding, Andrew Johnson, and Franklin Pierce. Their stories are evidence of America’s greatness. Few countries would have survived such incompetence.
Having been democratically thrown out of the White House, and his moral and spiritual emptiness exposed through a slew of indictments and other legal proceedings in the courts of justice, one would have expected Trump to be an asterisk in his country’s remarkable journey. But here he was, with a strong chance of reclaiming the seat that was once occupied by truly great men, among them George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Barack Obama, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Thomas Jefferson, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan. All because Biden was insisting on running a race from which he was unfortunately disqualified by his waning intellectual and physical strength.
My pain was not just for America and the world. It was also for Biden the man. After 50 years of distinguished public service, and a great job as vice-president, then president of his country, his candidacy for re-election threatened to shred his legacy, capped by a humiliating exit from the White House. He would have needlessly handed the keys to Trump. His withdrawal from the race, albeit late, has salvaged his reputation, saved his legacy and, above all, given America an opportunity to save itself from another four years of chaos.
Now, age does not matter. Health matters. At nearly 82, Biden is the same age as people that have accomplished extraordinary things as national leaders. Mwai Kibaki, arguably the best president that Kenya has had, retired from the State House at the age of nearly 82. William Gladstone, considered by historians to have been one of Britain’s greatest prime ministers, was 82 when he was elected to his fourth non-consecutive term. The world of business, medicine, and academia in general is full of bright and able men and women whose advanced age has not dimmed their abilities and productivity.
On the other hand, cognitive ability, regardless of age, matters. Biden’s sharp mind is slowly surrendering to the ravages of our mortal bodies. While he is still way better than Trump in every measure that matters, Biden no longer has the sharpness and energy to face a master manipulator, a showman that despises the truth, one who invents conspiracy theories, and will say and do whatever it takes to hoodwink gullible Americans. More importantly, America, by its nature and status, needs a leader who will be on-call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to respond to internal and external crises
Why does the occupant of the White House matter to me, a foreigner? The importance of the United States to Canada was very aptly described on March 15, 1969, by Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, when he told the National Press Club in Washington DC: “Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” The strong interdependence of Canada and the United States is enough reason for Canadians to hope for a stable, predictable, dependable and safe person in the White House.
As a Ugandan, I am keen to see an American leader that respects Africans and is willing to engage in fair trade with African countries. I prefer a commander-in-chief of the world’s most powerful army who is free from the inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that afflict Donald Trump. I value an American president that is eager to advance racial equality and deny oxygen to the racist faction of his people who are stuck in a world of a pseudo supremacy that has been superseded by advances in science and human progress.
America’s fate is now in the hands of the opinion leaders of the Democratic Party. They should pull no punches in getting the party to rally behind Kamala Harris, a woman who is very qualified to be president of the United States. A lawyer, former district attorney of San Francisco, former attorney general of California, former senator of the United States, and now Vice-President of the United States, she is as prepared for the presidency as one could wish.
Had she been a European-American male, there would have been little doubt that the discredited Trump would be defeated in November. But Kamala is a female of Indian and African ancestry. That matters greatly in a country trapped in their version of tribal politics. However, sixteen years ago, America faced a similar challenge, the choice between Barack Obama, a Kenyan-American and John McCain, a British-American. Americans passed the test by choosing Obama, who went on to become one of their greatest presidents.
In Harris versus Trump, the progressive, honest citizens of America have an easier choice to make. Hopefully they elect her the first woman president of the United States of America. President Kamala Devi Harris would be an excellent bridge between the older and younger generations, and the agent that denies mediocrity and destructive hatred a place in America’s White House.
© Muniini K. Mulera