2024-10-03 02:53:34
Some voters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump believe in various conspiracy theories so much that they will not allow the possibility of his defeat in the elections. In the new episode of the American Dream podcast, Jan Kaliba, a former correspondent of Czech Radio in the United States, says so. He also talks about the unexpected problem of Kamala Harris.
The American Dream podcast with Jan Kaliba. | Video: Martin Novák
“In America, I have met people who admire Donald Trump so much that they agree with him on absolutely everything. Although we can consider it an exaggeration, these people openly tell you to your face that they are in favor of the execution of Trump’s opponents and the like. In in these moments, a person feels a little scared,” describes Kaliba.
The journalist is the author of the book The Fight for America: Voices from a Distraught Country. “I demonstrate my anger by the fact that now the Americans are not able to agree on the most basic thing – whether they had legitimate elections and have a legitimately elected president,” says the journalist, referring to the fact that Trump and many of his voters have not yet recognized the defeat of the Republican candidate in the presidential election in in 2020.
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Kaliba points out that if Trump loses the election again this November, some of his supporters may not recognize the result again. “I was in the US two months ago, and when I asked these people who they would trust if Harris won – even if the results were recognized by the court – they said Donald Trump,” he recounts.
In the podcast, Kaliba talks about his experiences traveling around the United States. For example, he stayed at the US-Mexico border, which hundreds of thousands of migrants are crossing or want to cross. He also visited the island of Tangier on the east coast, which is gradually sinking due to rising ocean levels, but most locals do not believe in climate change and vote for Trump there. “They think that this is happening mainly because of erosion, and they are also quite spiritual and religious people. They are convinced that God will help them,” says the journalist.
An expert on the United States does not dare to guess who will be the next American president. According to him, the differences in the polls are so close that it is simply impossible to predict. “Recent polls show that Harris is in a bad position among trade unionists. This is a big pain for the Democrats. This is exactly where Hillary Clinton burned in the so-called “rust belt” in 2016,” reminds Kaliba. These are once prosperous industrial areas in the Northeastern USA. Workers from places where traditional industry has disappeared and is disappearing – in Ohio, Pennsylvania and even further to the Midwest – Trump then got on his side, the reporter points out.