The Democrats must reclaim America – not be defined by Trump

Award-winning columnist, foreign correspondent and investigative journalist Give thanks: the American people voted to restore faith in their sanity and rebuild trust in their tarnished democracy. They turned out in huge numbers across the US to show disgust for the shambolic, sleazy and squalid regime of Donald Trump in the midterm elections. From Alaska to Wisconsin they rebuffed Republicans, chucking out candidates representing the party that appeased this destructive president and turning to Democrats even in some of the reddest states. The results were staggering – such as one largely-Hispanic county in Kansas that Trump won by 39 points just two years ago turning blue, helping this conservative and rural state to switch sides in the Senate for the first time in almost a century. This was an epochal moment. It carries lessons for British politics – not just in the warning signs flashing clearly about the billionaire-backed, hard-right populism of Nigel Farage, but also for a Conservative leader shrinking her coalition by pushing away centrists, and even a Labour Party flirting with left-wing fads. The Democrats won by focusing on everyday issues such as the cost of living crisis and healthcare, while their flailing rivals resorted to branding them extremists and targeting minority groups. Note, however, that the liberal voters of California appear to have rejected the imposition of a hefty wealth tax on their billionaires – and how the more reasonable Republicans outperformed their party in places such as Maine and New Hampshire. As I found last month talking to voters, many Americans are tired of division and hate. Yet this was a success that echoes Sir Keir Starmer’s triumph two years ago, built on anger against a soiled, self-absorbed government rather than love for the alternative. Trump promised peace and prosperity, then delivered inflation and another foolish Middle Eastern conflict that drove up energy prices. His deputy JD Vance is correct to blame the Iran war for his party’s demolition, even as this cynical man leads the rush to put distance from a discredited president. Expect many more cheerleaders on the right to belatedly find their backbone and start shuffling away from this awful president. Now the spotlight turns on the Democratic victors who redrew the US electoral map to see if they will blow their success after winning not just control of Congress but many key local posts and a majority of governorships for the first time in a generation. Moderates and progressives all fought on the affordability issue, yet often have very different ideas for how to lift living standards, fight inequality and fix healthcare. This is a party riven with division, even if it papered over cracks between centrists and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Five incoming Senators ran on a pledge not to support their leader Chuck Schumer. And look at the brutal fight for Los Angeles Mayor where Karen Bass – former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus – seems set to be ousted in a runoff by the DSA-backed Nithya Raman. They are making all the right noises for now about focusing efforts on combating everyday problems facing citizens while checking the President’s abuse of power. There is a clear path to the White House in two years’ time building on this triumph if they can unify around a candidate – especially if they cement their grip on Texas, with the second-biggest number of votes in the Electoral College after California. They will try to end the Iran War, remove tariffs, restrain ICE and reverse health cuts, using control of the budget to attempt deals with the administration. There is a possibility, depending on deaths or retirement, to reshape the Supreme Court. Yet the biggest challenge may be simply to resist the temptation of being defined by Trump – baited by his outrages, consumed by their loathing, and driven into political cul-de-sacs by the fierce desire for vengeance against his family, friends and allies. As smoke clears from this historic tussle, two issues emerge as battlegrounds for the next presidential race that – as Vance showed – starts almost instantly. And both have global significance. The first is Israel. The war in Gaza and ethnic cleansing by West Bank settlers has shattered the bipartisan consensus on Israel – especially after its prime minister persuaded Trump to launch the attack on Iran that backfired so badly. Several Democratic candidates have spoken out strongly for Palestinians, shrugging off spurious claims that criticism of Israel is inherently antisemitic. This reflects the generational divide cutting across the political spectrum with young Americans increasingly seeing Israel as a toxic ally, similar to how their grandparents saw the Vietnam War. Significantly, Trump suddenly claimed on election day that he would cut nearly $4bn in annual military aid later this year. The second issue revolves around artificial intelligence, threatening the US lead in technology. As I discovered in Texas and the election proved, the explosion of data centres is deeply unpopular – and as one Republican insider told me, it is growing into a major political and national security flashpoint. Many Democratic candidates campaigned against their unfettered spread while scores of communities passed measures to stop or slow their development. Analysts warn that this may stymie their rollout. One Democratic congressman, seeking a nationwide moratorium, claimed we are seeing “the early tremor of a much bigger AI earthquake upending American politics”. And the behaviour of the tech titans in cuddling up to Trump – especially Elon Musk pouring vast sums into Republican coffers – has infuriated their former political allies, which will not be alleviated by frantic hiring of a few party operatives. This is not the end of the Trump era, as some over-excited people have suggested, since this calamitous, self-serving and unpredictable president remains in office for another two years and two months. But it is the beginning of the end, a revolt of the people and reshaping of the political landscape in response to a grotesque leader who has treated them, their democracy and their country with imperious contempt. “Relief is on the way,” said Schumer on election night. Let us hope he is right.