Harris’s defeat is no tragedy; it’s a sliver of justice, a rare rebuke from voters who refuse to reward American indifference to suffering abroad.
First as tragedy, then as farce, and now—an endless cycle of farce, like a bad political rerun that won’t quit. America has rewarded its own worst instincts by returning to office an anti-women, climate-denying, xenophobic figure who has openly admired authoritarianism. This isn’t an anomaly; it’s déjà vu—again. Trump’s re-election isn’t an outlier but a pattern that shatters any pretence of America being better than this. It isn’t, and it’s high time we stopped pretending otherwise.
Trump’s re-election, with a clear majority, lands with a shock that feels almost rehearsed—a bitter confirmation of what we might have feared all along. It’s the logical outcome of a system built on imperialist ambitions—a relentless pursuit of influence and control abroad through military interventions, economic coercion, and support for oppressive regimes. This system fuels perpetual wars and shows an entrenched indifference to human suffering, especially outside Western borders.
Let’s set one thing straight: Kamala Harris didn’t lose because America isn’t ready for her “vision.” She lost because her campaign epitomised a Democratic Party too arrogant to engage progressives, too tone-deaf to listen to the working class, and too complacent to embrace non-negotiable human rights.
Harris ran a soulless campaign, devoid of any genuine commitment to progressive values. Instead, she and the Democrats courted endorsements from reviled neoconservative hawks while she served as vice president in an administration brazenly complicit in genocide—an administration whose president earned the nickname “Genocide Joe” for funnelling billions in arms and diplomatic support to Israel as it laid waste to Gaza.
Harris became the face of an establishment that sanctioned horror abroad while dismissing those who dared to call it out.
In August, during a rally in Michigan, Harris was confronted by a protester chanting, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t vote for genocide.” She responded with contempt: “I am speaking now…” When the chant resumed, she doubled down, saying, “If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”
She offered nothing to anti-war voters, nothing to those demanding climate action—relying instead on fear, that worn-out threat that we should support her because the alternative is worse.
But fear is no substitute for loyalty, and at last, a critical mass of Americans seems unwilling to be held hostage by such cynical games. The numbers may not be overwhelming, but voters with a clear moral compass do exist—those who refused to endorse either Democrats or Republicans.
Are you listening now? Your defeat isn’t a tragedy; it’s a sliver of justice, a rare and clear rebuke from voters who refuse to reward American indifference to suffering abroad.
For four years, Democrats exhausted themselves wooing “moderate” Republicans, clinging to the fantasy that Trump’s base could be drawn into a bipartisan embrace. And what did they achieve? CNN reports that 94% of Republicans voted for Trump again—the same as in 2020. Meanwhile, the Democratic vote dwindled, leaving a hollow campaign built to frighten, not to inspire.
The Democrats’ true ailment is centrism—that morally bankrupt sludge that swallows hope of meaningful change. Every election cycle, they reach across the aisle, pandering to those who openly despise them, only to alienate their base. Every time. And instead of course-correcting, they interpret each defeat as a call to drift further right, stripping themselves of values and vision in a desperate attempt to please donors and perpetuate the status quo. If the Democrats want to win again, here’s a suggestion: earn votes rather than hold voters hostage.
None of this is about who Trump is or what he might do next; it’s about what’s already been done, built over decades of bipartisan neglect and cruelty. Every US president alive could be charged by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Yet the Democrats had the gall to paint their candidate as the “lesser evil,” as if that would somehow obscure the monstrous policies they’ve upheld—policies that have wrecked lives abroad and hollowed out any moral leadership at home.
Read more: Looking away from Gaza will not assuage our conscience; only action will
How did we get here? A failing education system has produced a nation largely unaware of its government’s far-reaching imperialism. Few Americans know their country operates over 700 military bases in 88 countries or that America has been at war for 231 of its 248 years—only 17 years of peace, comprising 93% of its existence—with the past few decades being especially ruthless.
Since 2001, the US has displaced 59 million people across eight countries, dropping an average of 46 bombs per day under the guise of their “war on terror.” Americans have poured $32 million per hour into wars—money that could have revolutionised healthcare, housing and infrastructure for a people largely in the dark about how their taxes fund a global oligarchy that kills without consequence.
Since WWII, the United States has bombed or invaded roughly a third of the world’s population. Afghanistan, Bosnia, Cambodia, China, Congo, Cuba, El Salvador, Korea, Guatemala, Indonesia, Laos, Grenada, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia—the list drones on. These aren’t isolated conflicts but a relentless catalogue of violence inflicted for profit, waged on nations with resources or interests inconvenient to the American empire.
The true winners of this election aren’t the American people. They are billionaires, corporations, Wall Street, the military-industrial complex—the usual suspects who thrive in indifference to ordinary suffering. To them, party affiliation is irrelevant; they win regardless.
Red or blue, the machinery of the empire grinds on, with profits that rise in tandem with human misery. Meanwhile, the people of the world, the climate, human rights, peace—they all suffer in equal measure.
For years, some held onto the dream that the Democratic Party could be reformed, that it might serve as a vehicle for real change. That dream is now dead.
This party doesn’t exist to champion justice or save the planet; it exists to uphold elite interests, to spoon-feed us empty promises that “next time” will be different. Its leaders shape our perception of the world, hoping we’ll stay passive and play along in their cycles of deceit.
To those Trump supporters celebrating victory, I offer this: you may have won the election, but it’s a hollow win. Your lives won’t improve, your communities won’t thrive, and your futures won’t be more secure. Trump, like every neoliberal leader, will continue to sacrifice you on the altar of profit and greed. This dysfunction affects us all, no matter which flag we fly.
The cycle of empty promises, bipartisan cruelty and ideological emptiness is what allows figures like Trump (or Biden, or Harris) to rise, and it is only by dismantling this rotten system that any of us stand a chance.
