There was something Shakespearean about the 2020 presidential elections as they played out on our screens, says Duncan Roberts.
When political drama on the scale we have witnessed during the last week plays out on our screens, we often reach out to find parallels in art. In particular, we might find similarities in the historical plays and tragedies of William Shakespeare, which are packed with so much twisting narrative and brilliant insight into the mindset of the powerful and the power-hungry that their story-arcs and character traits have become over-familiar tropes.
Even as he rails against what he undoubtedly sees as the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, Donald Trump seems to lack the capacity for the sort of introspection the prince of Denmark displays in that famous Shakespearean soliloquy from “Hamlet”. From what we have seen from his media appearances over the years, the president sees self-doubt as a weakness, while the public showing of empathy is anathema to him.
Compare this with Joe Biden’s reaction to the tragedies that have beset his life--the loss of his first wife, Neilia, and baby daughter, Naomi, in a car crash in 1972, then the death of his promising eldest son, Beau, to brain cancer in 2015. In an interview with Piers Morgan just after Beau’s funeral, Biden explained that however bad things may seem, a lot of people are going through a lot worse. “And the way they get through it is other people reaching out to them to give them solace, and in finding a purpose.” Throughout his campaign, which Trump derided as “sleepy”, Biden seemed to be taking the line of the old duke in “As You Like It”, when he hears out Orlando’s demand for food. “Your gentleness shall force, more than your force move us to gentleness.”
But the drama is far from over. With someone as unpredictable as Donald Trump in the White House for another 10 weeks, anything can happen. As US ambassador Randy Evans pointed out in an interview last week, “until January 20, nothing as a legal matter changes in terms of the powers of either the president or the Congress or of the courts.” So, the president can still issue all kinds of executive orders.
And the final act of this particular drama will also see a climactic moment play out on 5 January, with the run-off elections for two senate seats in the state of Georgia that will decide the balance of power in the upper chamber. If Democrats can maintain their momentum and claim both seats they will control the senate by virtue of Kamala Harris, as vice president, being able to cast tiebreaking votes in the chamber. History tells us this is a big ask, but then history didn’t reckon with the formidable force that is Stacey Abrams, who has mobilised Democrat supporting voters in the Peach State--the home state of Randy Evans, no less--in unprecedented numbers.
But like any major character, whatever happens in the next year or so, Donald Trump will continue to shape the drama even if he is right now personally forced to “exit, pursued by a bear”. If he doesn’t decide to run again in 2024, the Republican party, and its influential grass roots supporters, may well see in Trump’s authoritarian demeanour and mesmerising presence a mould that they think will continue to appeal to large swathes of voters. A fresh face, with more political finesse, may do well in the primaries.
And then there is the question of whether, as many commentators feel is likely, Joe Biden (who will by then be 81) decides not to run for a second term. Will the Democrats be able to keep their middle ground support with Kamala Harris and a potentially more left-of-centre running mate on the ticket?
The next chapter of this drama is definitely going to be one to watch.
