The great American backlash

Sound and fury from Ronald McDonald.

As Americans prepare to vote in today’s presidential ballot - just opening, as I write this - the United States is a country on edge: Het land staat op scherp. Most polls give Joe Biden a slight lead in the popular vote, but the decisive swing states look tight.

On a dusty 12,000km road trip between 10 places called Hope - Hope, Kansas; Hope, Arkansas; in Maine, Texas, North Carolina (you get the picture) - Karlijn van Howelingen reported for Het Parool on the depth of this nationwide anxiety. Americans, she wrote, await the aftermath of the election with bated breath (or its equivalent in their hearts) - houden hun hart vast.

Recently, I posted here on potential scenarios for the morning of November 4. The Transition Integrity Group, an exercise in June 2020 by more than one hundred lawyers, journalists, politicians and Washington insiders, predicted violence if the early result is contested. Only a decisive victory either way, and a swift concession from the loser, would avoid violen…