After the U.S. midterm elections, the French daily “Le Monde” says President Donald Trump was already “clearly ignoring Congress” beforehand, and that this is unlikely to change. Now, however, the paper says Trump will have to face his own weakening, owing to the approaching end of his term and his age.
“Even before the Democrats’ undisputed victory, the American president was clearly ignoring the legislative branch,” “Le Monde” says in a dispatch from Washington published Wednesday. It notes that Trump preferred to resort to executive orders and developed a habit of “acting unilaterally and presenting other institutions, such as Congress or the judiciary, with a fait accompli.” The paper says he will therefore “probably continue in the same vein.” As a result, “a confrontation appears inevitable,” one that will concern, among other things, federal spending and foreign policy, including arms deliveries to Israel and aid for Ukraine.
The article also points out that there is “another side” to the American president’s future, and it is harder to control: “Donald Trump, who is 80, will face his own inevitable decline,” both political and physical. The paper notes that the “lame duck” syndrome affects every president after the midterm elections, when he can no longer run for another term. “The debate over the future of the Republican Party, which will likely be stormy, will no longer concern him (Trump),” “Le Monde” stresses. The paper adds that there is also “the question of physical and cognitive decline,” even though the American president “claims he is still in full strength.”
The paper does not go into detail on the midterm results, noting only that “the electoral disaster did indeed happen.” It argues that Trump, “sensing the outcome of the vote, prepared for cohabitation,” meaning power-sharing with a legislature controlled by the opposing political camp. At the same time, this cohabitation “will relieve him of full responsibility for running the country,” “Le Monde” observes. Donald Trump’s presidential term ends in 2028.
According to results that are still incomplete, in Tuesday’s congressional elections the Republican Party suffered a serious defeat, losing its majority in both chambers to the Democratic Party.
From Paris, Anna Wróbel (PAP)
