With the global tide turning against him, the US president’s lame duck status could still aggravate old tensions and spark new explosions
It was a victory for the world, too. People in the many countries that suffered pain, loss and cruel indignities at the hands of Donald Trump over the past two chaotic, fearful years celebrated a moment of glorious, shared redemption. The monster, like others of his kind, still lurks in his gilded White House lair; far-right authoritarianism still casts a dark shadow over many nations. But the power of this most destructive of presidents is shattered, his malignant spell broken. The triumphant roar of US midterm voters was a rallying cry of democratic defiance that, echoing the American revolution of 250 years ago, reverberated around the globe.
For Iranians, Trump’s electoral humiliation raised hopes, perhaps misplaced, that his murderous war of choice against Tehran’s oppressive regime may soon cease. In Israel, many among the majority who voted for change last week will welcome the humbling of the foremost supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu’s as-yet-unvanquished extremist coalition. Ukrainians voiced optimism that a Democratic-controlled Congress will curb the sickening appeasement of Vladimir Putin’s Russia. In Europe, the beginning of the end of the Trump era brought a sense of relief – and hope that toxic transatlantic relations can be drained of Maga poison.
