DC Edit | Trump is back like a bad penny

Former US President Donald Trump has the surprising trait of turning up like a bad penny. Irrepressible he may not be as his record in the last three elections shows, from the midterms of 2018 through his failed presidential run in 2020 and the midterms of 2022. The Republicans, led by Trump, came up well short of hyped expectations. The never-say-die businessman-turned politician has, however, thrown his hat in the presidential ring for the third time and the first thought that bobs up is that the United States deserves better.

The experience of recent elections in the US may have shown what a sneaky role social media played as it parlayed misinformation and disinformation in caustic ways. And yet what the US sees now is the return of Trump to Twitter as his fellow disruptor in the world’s richest man Elon Musk plays his card as a free speech absolutist. To say the least, interesting times are ahead as the Democrats, having narrowly lost the majority in the House, search for a candidate to take on the Grand Old Party’s Trump or Ron DeSantis.

Mr Trump’s record is intriguing as he was twice impeached for seeking to undermine the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and faces probes into his role in inciting the January 6 insurrection that brought unprecedented violence to Capitol Hill. His steadfast refusal to accept the verdict of the democratic process as refined by the US in over two centuries has somehow created distrust in democracy. Even then, Trump has a legal right to try and contest in the 2024 election but if a democratic system is to survive, those who seek office must abide by its rules.

To the credit of the US voters, the most dangerous election deniers were not voted into office in the midterms. But it is clear the US must do a lot more to protect democratic governance from personal agendas that personality cults tend to spawn. Trump, a known dissembler whose middle name might well be ‘chaos’ is the biggest problem though he has been judged to be not quite suited for public office. It is up to the Americans to see which of their leaders believe in submitting to the rule of law, regardless of whether they win or lose.