Protesting against Donald Trump's D-Day visit to Portsmouth 5 June 2019, photo Nick Chaffey, photo Nick Chaffey

Protesting against Donald Trump’s D-Day visit to Portsmouth 5 June 2019, photo Nick Chaffey   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

I teach US History for GCSE. I spent a chunk of the lesson yesterday trying to explain why the federal constitution uses an electoral college and not a popular vote to choose a president (because the founding fathers wanted to secure slavery). And why the voting regulations vary so much across the nation (a legacy from reconstruction and the Jim Crow era). Intelligent 15-year-olds can understand it for what it is – a reminder that racism is embedded in the fabric of US society.

Chris Holmes

As good as it is to see the end of Trump’s maniacal time as president, don’t forget Biden and Harris are still representatives of the ruling class and ultimately act in their interests.

Trump became president for a reason, and that’s because people are pissed off with their living and work conditions, and thought Trump might be different to the usual establishment politicians.

The conditions that led to Trump will remain under the Biden presidency, with the Democrats trying to manage crisis-ridden capitalism. The US needs a mass workers’ party with a proper socialist programme giving a voice and lead for working-class people.

Michael Hirst

Up until news broadcaster CNN declared Biden as President-elect, it was fairly easy listening. At times they were witty in their condemnation of Trump. I laughed at Trump being called an “obese turtle on its back flailing in the hot sun”, then seeing the crowds pouring onto the streets. Particularly the young people, black and white, it reminded me of when Mubarak was ousted in Egypt. These young people were celebrating seeing the back of a racist, misogynistic president.

All of this has been riveting to watch. But now CNN, part of the capitalist establishment, are going out of their way to pretend that ‘all voices must be heard’ – except those who agree with Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. From CNN’s point of view, any idea of socialism or defunding the police cannot be tolerated. In reality CNN, and the establishment it represents, want these young people to celebrate today, then to go home and leave politics in the hands of the establishment’s representative – Joe Biden. If these young people want a decent future they’re going to have to fight.

Elaine Brunskill

“We’ve dumped Trump.” He’s thrown all of his toys out of the pram, so “take him away.” Trouble is, he’s not going far. He’ll hang around like the ghoul stoking up trouble. Then in four years he will try and come back unless he croaks.

The Democrats will be damn-all use, tied as they are to the rotting corpse of capitalism. They will not succeed in dragging US workers out of the very deep world recession. Then we’ll see the return of Trumpism with a vengeance if he can bamboozle or demoralise enough people.

Is this as good as it gets? Working people and youth desperately need real democratic socialist parties that can thrash out a way forward, here and in America, by fighting to change the system forever. Join the Socialist Party today and get in that fight!

Chris Parry

While the majority of Americans, and indeed a majority around the world, are breathing a sigh of relief at seeing the back of Donald Trump, they should reflect on why the billionaire bigot got to the White House in the first place. The answer is because of the anti-working class policies pursued by the capitalist leadership of the Democrats, including the likes of Biden, over the last three or four decades.

Just like Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ capitalism in the UK represented a seamless transition from ‘Thatcherism’, the same process occurred with Clinton, Biden et al continuing ‘Reaganism’ in the US. That meant policies such as massive tax breaks for corporations and the super-rich, increasing wealth and health inequality, dismantling social security, pursuing anti-union policies, demonising and incarcerating young black men, and negotiating free trade deals accelerating deindustrialisation.

Little wonder then that in the 2016 presidential election, many working people were indifferent or even hostile to the establishment Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton, while Republican Trump, with his pseudo pro-worker rhetoric, was able to flip previously Democrat-supporting states.

Biden, in defeating left-leaning Bernie Sanders in the primaries, made it crystal clear that he represented ‘business as usual’ capitalist politics. This was ignored in voters’ desperation to oust Trump, but unless the labour movement takes steps to break from the Democrats and construct a new, mass working-class party, based on socialist policies, then Trumpism can return.

Simon Carter