In this special program we talk about the upcoming elections in the United States.
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00Before the special show in Telus for English in which we'll be bringing you all the information the analysis and everything you need to know
00:06About the election in the United States that is taking place tomorrow Tuesday, November 5th
00:11My name is Belen de los Santos and with me bringing all the data regarding the electoral process is our very own Gladys Quezada
00:18Welcome Gladys
00:20Thank you Belen for this introduction and also for the welcoming to our audience
00:24And yes, we will be giving you all the details the figures the breakdown of those data that are so complicated
00:31But define this election this key election in the United States
00:352024 also follow us in our socials
00:37We will be there giving you all the intel and you know, the underbelly of this election also back to you. Well
00:46Also joining us here is international analyst and professor Danny show former professor at the City University of New York
00:53Who was sadly fired after 20 years for defending the Palestinian cause welcome Danny. Thank you for joining us. Thank you Belen
01:01Thank you Gladys
01:04It's a pleasure to have you here with us and we are also joined by our special and boy Carlos Montero
01:11Who's is with us from Washington DC. Hello Carlos. Thank you for being with us as well
01:18Thank you very much for having me here in this show
01:23You
01:28Thank You Carlos and just how important it is to have the testimony from where everything is taking place
01:34The world's eyes are on the United States this week for an election process that is set to define the coming years
01:39For the country and impact the rest of the world join us for all the analysis reactions and key information
01:46This is United States decides 2024
01:53And
02:10We begin with the information and just to keep us on track with everything that's going on
02:15We go live now with our correspondent Carlos Montero who is now in Washington DC
02:21Hello Carlos, bring us all the information what is happening there? How is the capital district preparing themselves for the election day tomorrow?
02:31Tomorrow is going to be a big day. Absolutely. It's going to be a day that the whole world is watching at the USA
02:37What's going to happen tomorrow is the big question. The polls are very close Camilla Harris
02:43Donald Trump today. They have a really busy busy day trying to
02:48Convince their followers that's necessary a change in what's going on in this country
02:54Camilla Harvick use all his her energy in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania is a state that
03:01Many people many specialists consider that could define this election
03:06She was in a Spanish restaurant talking to the people who are very owner of the place
03:13She was talking to
03:15Different people of a community and the big closing event is going to be very soon. It's going to be in a few
03:23Minutes where she's going to be a lot of celebrities
03:26It's going to be their Oprah Winfrey Lady Gaga
03:31Among others that they don't tell us so far, you know, a lot of celebrities from Hollywood
03:36They are poor Kamala Harris Donald Trump on the other hand
03:40He spent his day very easy day to it was in three states
03:45Also three states that could define the state. We have to be very careful tomorrow when we have for a special cover here
03:53Tell us who there's funny English that
03:57First he started the morning in North Carolina. He was in Raleigh. Then he went to
04:05Pennsylvania there was in two towns of Pennsylvania and then he's going to finish
04:10his night to be his last act is going to be in a Michigan where he's going to try to
04:17Convince people that USA need to change that Biden the four years
04:22They didn't work and let's see what's going on
04:25But I know you have don't have much time and I want to give you the chance to talk to my guest
04:31Calvin dark political analyst. He's from North Carolina
04:35He lived in Argentina, he knows pretty well what's going on
04:39What do you think about what we are going to expect from tomorrow election?
04:44We know that the result is going to be close
04:47We know that as you said seven swing states very key swing states and we'll be looking at those results
04:54We won't know any results until around 8 o'clock. My state North Carolina will probably be among the first
05:02But if it's really really close, we won't know tomorrow night, but if it's not close we may know
05:07North Carolina is going to go a little blue. What do you think? I think that there's a good chance that
05:13when because
05:16One against Biden by just a little over 1% and so she only a little bit more to recover to be able to
05:25Who
05:26Speciality or speciality is communication. You talk about the communication. It was crazy during deals campaigns a
05:34Kamala Harris a yes, I she said, you know, I'm tired of this. She didn't mention in the last
05:43Trump we have to build bridges
05:46We don't have to burn the bridges Donald Trump. There were so many I don't know where to start
05:53Today he said for instance that they don't believe in the polls
05:56They are liars the New York Times who present the poll that he was a little bit behind Kamala. They are Miami
06:03he said that
06:06No, he didn't say that but the comedian in one of his meetings said that Puerto Rican they live in a island
06:13There is an island full of trash then he with a microphone
06:18He was attending acting like if you were to or else I mean, what do you think about communication of Donald Trump?
06:26And why why don't explain us? Why am I are so many Americans who accept that? I
06:32Think that Donald Trump because he showman from TV. He can do things that other politicians can
06:38But I think that politically it's not wise
06:41Because most people in America know either want Donald Trump or they don't want Kamala Harris or they don't
06:49It's these undecided voters that are important and if you're an undecided voter and you hear those things that you just said about Trump
06:56And then you hear the message from Kamala Harris
07:00Just changing a few thousand votes could be the in this election. So politically he should stay on message
07:07I don't think he's going to tell me. Thank you very much
07:10I want to go back to the studio and remind me remind you we are going to have a special coverage tomorrow from very early
07:18Until very late. I don't know what time
07:21Also in Spanish and also we are going to contribute with you guys in English and before going back
07:26I didn't know about the profile you have as a guest one who have was fired after 20 years
07:31It's really awful that this is happening or my solidarity with him going back with you to the
07:39Thank you Carlos for that input and also all the information from the side
07:44Of course
07:45Everything is ready for tomorrow and we'll be seeing as you were just analyzing if this is a very close race or not in
07:52the end
07:54Thank you
07:57You
07:59Okay, so now let's get into topic in it says the presidential race is seemingly tied
08:05Hours before election day as a narrow margins of polls results not show a clear lead of either candidate
08:12But this election is not defined by popular vote through an indirect vote is cast through the Electoral College
08:19What does this mean? How does the actual college work? We will begin the discussion with the following material
08:27The
08:30Electoral College is a sort of intrigue for some who don't understand how it works
08:35Since its creation form of indirect action of the president is not a physical place
08:42It is a process that begins with choosing the electors
08:46As their votes for president and vice president as well as the content of votes for Congress
08:51The Electoral College is composed of 538 electors, each state having several electors equal to its seats in Congress
09:01That is one of each of its members in the House of Representatives and the Senate
09:06Each state chooses its electors in a different way
09:09But generally they are still led by political party and presidential candidate in that state
09:15Although each state is allowed to regulate how the elector system works
09:20Most states implement a winner-take-all system where all electors votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the state's popular votes
09:30The electoral process begins with the general election which is held every four years of the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November
09:39By voting for a presidential candidate, the U.S. citizens are voting for the candidate's preferred constituency
09:44On election day, a prior winner is usually announced on the evening of the same voting date according to the government's website
09:52After the general election, the state executives prepare a certificate of certain that lists the names of the designated electors and the votes each individual receives
10:01This certificate is sent to the National Archives to become part of the official record of the presidential election
10:08The meeting of the electors takes place in the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December
10:15And electors vote for president and vice-presidents on separate ballots
10:18These votes are recorded on a certificate of votes which is sent to the Congress and to the National Archives
10:25The electoral votes of each state are counted at a joint session of Congress on January the 20th
10:31In contrast, with a joint session of Congress at a week's notice of the vice-president of the United States, the votes of the electors are counted and a new president is officially declared
10:43According to the United States National Archives, the president-elect is sworn in as president of the nation on January the 20th of the year following the general elections
10:55So the Electoral College is one of the key aspects that we need to understand to really comprehend tomorrow's election
11:01But now, how did the system begin?
11:04Ok Belén, that's a very good question because many people think that this system is contemporary or is more modern
11:14But what instead is really outdated in some point because it originated in the late 1700s, specifically in 1787 with the Constitutional Convention after what is named or what is historically known as the American Experiment or the American Revolution
11:35Also, it was loudly praised by Alexander Hamilton who presented it and said it was excellent because of its advantages
11:43Why and which ones are the roots of this system?
11:46Well, one of the least known is that the abolition of the slavery or the slavery system in the north afterwards, the American Revolution and the state of the slavery system in the south is the root or is the main cause for the creation of this system
12:07The reason behind this is that the north had a population that was even with the south
12:15But in the south, because of the maintaining of slavery, the black people, the slave population had no right to vote
12:23So in other cases, they accounted for the census in the demographics but they did not account for the political participation
12:31So the south representatives felt they were in disadvantage with the power or the political grip of the north
12:39So one of the ways they found is that they could represent the amount of population they had using the system of representatives in Congress
12:49So that is the racial or maybe the core, the historical core of this kind of system or the system that later extended to other states in the nation
13:01Also, it is paramount to explain that the Republican Party was founded in 1854, just a little bit later
13:11And the Democratic Party also was founded in 1828
13:16Then we have some data to offer you because taking into account the racial cause or maybe this root of the system
13:27We have to know now that, for example, we have these little figures there that in the US demographics, according to the 2022 census, which is the last largest census
13:40that is providing the figures to conform the amount of representatives per population ratio in the states
13:49You have that there is a 2.4% of the total population, which is 333.3 million people in all the states
14:01So 58.9% of the population considers themselves white, and we have a 14.1% that believes they are Hispanic
14:12And we had other data, but 2.4% considers them multiracial, 0.7% native, and native Hawaiians, we have 0.2%
14:24Those are the breakdowns of the population, and we were offering you those data
14:29Because taking into account the founding and the roots of the system, we have to know that it has other impacts in today's population
14:39and in today's ethnic divisions and share in the population of the US
14:44So, Bel, back to you now, I'm giving you all the data, and I'm letting you to do the analysis
14:52And that's the idea, precisely to keep in mind all the difference in the population that you were mentioning
14:59and also in terms of the representativeness that that population might have in this democratic system
15:06So Professor, I come back to you now, and first I would like to take the opportunity, as Carlos Montero was just saying
15:13to also express our solidarity here from the act that we mentioned at the beginning
15:18and the Security Act that cost you your job for defending the Palestinian cause
15:23I hope that during this week that you'll be joining us, we'll be able to talk a little bit about what that support in this cause means also for US citizens
15:32And also coming to this topic, I wanted to ask you, we're talking about a system, an electoral system
15:39that has some problems in representation, in terms of not representing the actual direct popular vote
15:49How can we understand this system?
15:51Yeah, thank you for the solidarity. Many of us in the United States and the world know
15:56that professors, as educators, as professionals have been retaliated against just because we stand against genocide
16:04This system is the history lesson, and I think it's a necessary history lesson
16:08because most people in the United States could not explain what you all at Telesur just explained
16:14This is something that we inherited from the system of slavery in 1787
16:20and it means that small states have a disproportionate amount of representation in the Senate as well
16:28So a tiny state like a Wyoming or an Iowa would get two senators, just like a massive state like California or Texas
16:36It's also very discouraging because if there's a Republican voter in New York or Massachusetts, the Northeast states, the New England states
16:44these are always consistently historically blue states or Democratic states
16:49So if you're a Republican in those states, what's your motivation to even participate?
16:53And vice versa if you're in Alabama or Mississippi, which are historically Republican
16:59So for me, it's mighty curious, the United States, the government, which touts itself as the greatest democracy in the world
17:06which has invaded Panama, invaded Grenada, invaded the Dominican Republic, invaded Vietnam
17:11Well, you see a pattern, it's invaded basically every country in the world in the name of democracy
17:17And then when we actually reflect, where is our democracy?
17:20Most of us in the U.S. fail to really understand what the Electoral College means
17:27There's always petitions and demands that we transcend and evolve beyond this system
17:34But year after year, it's politics as usual
17:37And in fact, this is an anti-politics or anti-participatory, anti-democracy
17:44So it's important for the world at large to know the contradictions of U.S. democracy
17:49which Malcolm X always reminded us was in fact U.S. hypocrisy
17:53So we're trying to use this space that we have today, one day before the election day
18:01to really understand what this Electoral College system means
18:06So there's been a lot of talk in the media over the past days about the occasions in which, for example
18:11the president candidate who got the most amount of votes, who was most voted by the citizens
18:17was not the candidate elected president
18:20How does that math work?
18:22Yeah, the math doesn't work
18:24Because you have Hillary Clinton, had more than 3 million votes, more than Trump
18:30But she didn't win
18:31Of course in 2000, it all came down to Florida
18:34And Al Gore had millions of more votes than George Bush
18:38But somehow George Bush became the president
18:41So I think this is extremely discouraging
18:44And when you try to explain it to young people, it certainly, the math never adds up
18:51There's no serious resolution within either House of Congress to actually change this system
18:59So it's something that we're stuck with for now
19:02And then it comes down to these electors
19:04We don't know who the electors are
19:05The electors are unelected
19:07And in 2016, that came into play because Bernie Sanders in many states won the Democratic primary
19:13But then these electors appointed by the Democratic National Convention were able to say
19:19No, we reject Bernie Sanders for whatever reason
19:24Representing the status quo, the establishment of the Democratic Party
19:27And so they went with Hillary Clinton
19:29Once again, a strike against the actual democracy
19:33We should be like so many other countries throughout the world
19:36One vote, one citizen
19:39And that would be more like truly representative democracy
19:44Excellent, so we'll come back to that idea in just a few minutes
19:49Now we have a live report also from another one of our correspondents
19:54That is Henry Camelo who is in New York
19:56Let's listen from him
19:59Good evening everyone
20:01The final day of the 2024 presidential campaign is over
20:06Former President Donald Trump had a 90-minute speech full of criticism in North Carolina
20:12Before attending another in Reading, Pennsylvania
20:15Finishing the night in Grand Rapids, Michigan
20:19Donald Trump continued to lean heavily into his anti-immigration method
20:24Telling his supporters that Kamala Harris has eradicated the southern border
20:29Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris
20:32Concluded her campaign in Pennsylvania by holding rallies in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
20:38Followed by a concert in Allentown
20:41What is the 2024 presidential election result expected?
20:45In some presidential races, the victor has been named late on the election night
20:52This time, the tie race in many states could mean media outlets wait longer before projecting who has won
21:00Democrat Kamala Harris, the current Vice President
21:04And Republican Donald Trump, the former President
21:07Have been running neck and neck for weeks
21:10Narrow victories could also mean recounts
21:13In key swing states, Pennsylvania, for example
21:17A statewide recount would be required
21:20If there is a half-percentage point difference between the voters cast for the winner and the loser
21:27In 2020, the margin was just over 1.1 percentage points
21:32Democrats who say the numbers overall favor Harris
21:37Suspect that Trump is preparing to declare victory before all the key states are called
21:44The better to sow confusion when legal challenges commence
21:48According to Professor Alan Leishman, who has predicted the results of the last 10 presidential elections
21:55Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States
21:59He based his predictions on a metric system named the key of the White House
22:04This metric system has 13 keys
22:07Professor Leishman says Kamala Harris has 6 out of the 13 keys
22:12Meanwhile, Trump only has 3 in his favor
22:15In New York and many other states nationwide
22:19Poll centers will be open as early as 6 a.m. and will be closing at 9 p.m.
22:25We will keep you posted with the latest news
22:29Reporting from New York, Henry Camelo, Tel Azzur
22:36Thank you, Henry
22:37We will be looking forward to upcoming reports throughout this week to really follow on the situation
22:43And also, let's get back to what we were discussing with the professor show right now
22:47Glad you had something
22:49Yeah, we were speaking and discussing the role of this system
22:55And how it had favored some elites and some structures in the American society
23:01But I have a question because as you were addressing after the system was enforced
23:07Five times in the elections, in the presidential elections
23:11Has happened that one president was elected without the popular vote
23:17And only with the electoral college vote
23:19And five times, only 4 out of 5 times
23:23Was a Republican who won using the system
23:26So I see a pattern and I see it's easy to notice that the system is favoring one side more than the other
23:33Why?
23:34That's a great question
23:36It's certainly favored the Republicans
23:39I think it's important to remember that in the United States
23:42Socialism is hegemonic
23:45I'll offer one concrete example
23:48In polls, 80% of Democrats continue to trust the mainstream media
23:54Which for them is CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal
23:59But only 20% of Republicans trust what Trump calls the lamestream media
24:06And that's why Trump represents a monkey wrench in the entire system
24:12Because he's not doing it from the left
24:15But he's saying from the right wing or the extreme right wing
24:20We don't trust this entire system
24:23And so many of his followers
24:26Anything could really happen tomorrow
24:29If Trump is not declared winner
24:31He's already spreading rumors in Pennsylvania that there's fraud
24:35That's what he did in Georgia
24:37He's facing the open cases
24:39We could call these cases lawfare
24:42But liberalism is hegemonic
24:46Most people are going to vote Democrat
24:50But then that number is not the most important number
24:55So Trump still has a chance if he can get some of these key battleground states
25:00They're saying that Nevada, Arizona
25:03These are the unpredictable swing states right now
25:06And they're already predicting that they could take days or even a week to come in
25:12We should remember in 2020 the vote as always was on a Tuesday
25:17But it wasn't declared until Saturday
25:20So everyone should remain patient
25:22The results could be in
25:24If it's a landslide then we could know by tomorrow night at midnight or 2am
25:29But if it goes down as the past elections have
25:31We could be waiting for a number of days
25:34So the imbalance between the Democrats and the Republicans
25:41In terms of the outcome of the elections regarding this electoral college
25:45It is clear that it favors maybe those wider states with more population
25:50And because they have more electoral votes
25:54And of course they could make a background for the counting
25:59To win the 270 that is mandatory and needed for calling a win in any cases
26:06But there is also something I want to ask you
26:10What about, because we were seeing the racial background of this electoral system
26:15What about those states, because the system of the winner takes it all
26:21Invalidates, silences the votes of minorities
26:25For example, we know Texas has around 25% of black population
26:30Which could be leading Democrats as usual and as traditionally it does
26:35Because maybe this year there are some changes
26:38And that's some demographics we are going to see later
26:40But for now let's concentrate in one of the traditions they have, voting
26:44So how this electoral system invalidates their political voice in the elections
26:49The disenfranchisement of different voting sectors manifests in all these different ways
26:57Historically they've wanted to make sure that African Americans
27:03And other marginalized populations can't vote as effectively
27:08There's been a lot of back and forth about having physical ID cards
27:13That was something that was demanded in the south
27:15Historically it was a reason to invalidate, disenfranchise many African American voters
27:23And this is going to play out tomorrow
27:26We've seen long lines historically in Ohio and in other communities
27:31Where people weren't even able to cast their vote
27:34At least not in a comfortable, timely manner
27:37These are all things to be completely aware of
27:41And if we look at the map of electoral votes
27:44It gives an outsized, inflated importance to certain states
27:51And then the people within that state that don't vote the way that the majority do
27:56All of those votes are then lost
27:58So it's time for the U.S. government
28:01It's time for the people of the U.S. to continue to pressure
28:04So that we can have a truly modern participatory democracy
28:08In fact that is the paradox
28:11Many of the countries that the United States targets
28:13With sanctions, with blockades, with invasions, with occupations
28:19Have systems that through and through are more democratic
28:23More social and economic rights
28:25And that is the justification
28:26That's why they go after these countries like Cuba, like Venezuela, like Zimbabwe
28:30Like China, like Vietnam, like Nicaragua
28:33Because within their constitution there are enshrined rights
28:37That uphold a people's democracy
28:40And this reveals in front of the world that the U.S. is not a democracy
28:43It's a duopoly, there's two corporate parties
28:46Both faithful to the same corporate masters
28:50So we in fact don't live in a democracy
28:52Rather we live in a plutocracy
28:56And we'll come back to directly that idea
28:59Not only of the quality of the democracy in the United States
29:03Also following this process that we are going through this week
29:07But also thinking about what possibilities are there beyond
29:10If they can be thought beyond the two-party system
29:13We have a short break now
29:15But we'll be right back to continue going over everything
29:18All the analysis as we have so far
29:20Stay tuned
29:25The U.S. Department of State
29:55The U.S. Department of State
30:00Welcome back to United States Aside and we continue going over the main points in the
30:28election process that we will have at half point tomorrow Tuesday.
30:31Now because of the scenario that we were just describing, seven states hold the key to the
30:36White House.
30:37As the swing states, these are crucial in the electoral race as they fail to show beforehand
30:43a strong lean from either the Democratic or Republican Party.
30:47In these swing states, the race is slow and gets defined at the last minute and usually
30:52by very narrow margins.
30:54Let's see the following material.
30:57For the 2024 electoral process, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada,
31:05and North Carolina are the undecided states that may end up defining the U.S. presidency
31:11on November 5th.
31:12In the U.S. electoral system, citizens do not directly elect a candidate, but electors
31:18who then in turn cast their votes for one of the presidential aspirants.
31:23In most cases, whoever wins the popular vote in a state gets all its delegates, as most
31:29states have winner-takes-all systems.
31:34In Arizona, there are 11 delegates.
31:37As a border state with Mexico, immigration is at the forefront of voters' concern, especially
31:43after record border crossings, although these have declined in recent months.
31:50With 19 electoral college votes, the most of any swing state this year, Pennsylvania
31:56is foreshadowed to play a key role in the upcoming elections.
32:00For the state voters, the economy is a crucial issue.
32:04While this is a main source of concern to all citizens of the U.S., grocery prices have
32:10reportedly risen faster in this area than in any other state in the country over the
32:16last year.
32:20In Nevada, the economy discourse and preferences are also main issues for this swing state
32:26that represents its electoral votes.
32:28It is one of the states with the highest unemployment rate in the country, at about 5.5%, according
32:35to the most recent official data from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training
32:40and Rehabilitation.
32:43The southwestern state has one of the largest non-white populations in the country, with
32:48about 40% of voters being of Latin American, African, or Asian American origin, groups
32:54in which Harris has a greater support, but economy concerns may also play in favor of
33:00the Republicans.
33:03The 16 electoral votes from Georgia are key for either candidate, one-third of the state
33:09population in African America, one of the largest in the country, and the demographic
33:14believed to have been instrumental in Biden's narrow win in that state in 2020.
33:21For voters in the swing state of Michigan, which contributes 15 electors, the genocide
33:27in Gaza poses a major interest as it has the highest number of Arab Americans in the country,
33:34a demographic whose support for Biden has been addressed because of his backing of Israeli
33:39aggression.
33:41North Carolina, which delivers 16 electoral votes, shares some of the biggest concerns
33:50with its neighboring state, Georgia, and also with Arizona, such as immigration and the
33:56economy.
33:57The state is labeled as undecided ahead of the November 5 elections, even when polling
34:02data shows that Democratic electorates of the region have been revitalized in part due
34:08to the fact that over 20% of North Carolinians are black.
34:15Voting results for Wisconsin, which awards 10 electoral votes, have been described as
34:20nerve-wracking, which comes as no surprise since the vote there has been defined by less
34:25than 1% margins in almost every presidential election in the current century, when 20,000
34:33votes can tip the balance in a state of about 6 million people.
34:37Any group of voters can make a difference.
34:44Okay, so Professor Cho, we're now getting into one of the other hot topics of this election
34:49that is understanding for an international audience what the swing states are, why the
34:55discussion is concentrated there, and that is one of the things that has been dominating
35:00the discourse in the media.
35:02So now that we've discussed how the electoral process works and why the discussion is concentrated
35:08on those states in particular, what do you think could be the main topics to tilt that
35:13election in those states and the things that we are going to see tomorrow?
35:18Some of those states are in the Midwest.
35:21This is what they call Trump country.
35:24And as odious as Trump is, let's not forget what created the Trump phenomenon, and that's
35:31the neoliberal Democrats who have abandoned the Midwest.
35:36There's a certain anti-establishment feeling across the Midwest, particularly in these
35:42swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin.
35:47They know that the Hillary Clintons and the Obamas and these ruling class families, the
35:52Bidens, they know that they're fake.
35:56They can see Kamala Harris out there campaigning and smiling everywhere.
36:01Same thing with Trump putting on a hard hat.
36:03There's no authenticity.
36:04There's no sincerity.
36:06There's a concept in the United States that comes from social media that we should all
36:10study.
36:11It's called pro-felicity.
36:13It's not what you actually do in real life, like judge a human being by their actions
36:18type mentality.
36:20Authenticity is based on what is your profile on social media, on television, on X?
36:26What does it project?
36:27And of course, anyone can project any type of appearance, but appearance versus reality.
36:33What's the reality?
36:35Trump puts on this hard hat.
36:36Workers in the Midwest know, though, Trump is worth anywhere between $4 to $8 billion.
36:41He's never had to put on a hard hat.
36:43He's never had to work construction.
36:45Neither of these candidates are really relatable.
36:48And I think that's why scores of the American population tomorrow won't vote, which is a
36:54vote unto itself, a boycott vote, or they'll vote for Dr. Cornel West or Dr. Jill Stein
37:01or a third party candidate.
37:03When we get into Arizona, and this also relates to North Carolina, to Georgia and the Midwestern
37:09states, the issue of immigration, Trump is the scapegoater in chief.
37:15He's the demagogue in chief.
37:18And what Trump does is he says the most eccentric, sensationalistic things.
37:23Of course, the primary example was in the debate last month, he told all of America
37:29and the world that if Kamala Harris wins, hundreds of millions of illegal aliens, he
37:35uses a whole degrading vocabulary for our neighbors to the south, that they said that
37:41they would stream in and they would be eating people's pets.
37:46That to us may be laughable, but I can't tell you how many families back in Ohio or Indiana,
37:52in the Midwest that also exist, there's a Midwest in upstate New York, there's a Midwest
37:57in central Massachusetts.
37:58By Midwest, I mean the underdog, the workers who worked in industry a generation ago, but
38:04all of that industry left for China or for Central America, where they could exploit
38:09workers much more.
38:11So Trump has this odious rhetoric, and if you all remember, Kamala Harris was on the
38:16podium and she was just as outraged as all of us, and she was looking at Trump like,
38:21how dare you saying this about Haitians and about immigrants?
38:25But simultaneously, as that happened, who's invading Haiti?
38:30Who's occupying Haiti?
38:31Who has sent these Kenyan and Bahamian mercenaries to occupy Haiti in the name of the United
38:37States with our taxpayer money, $333 million?
38:42So there's so much fakeness about Kamala.
38:45I think a huge part of the voters know that it's almost a type of science fiction that
38:51if Joe Biden was to, in a science fiction-esque way, rip off his face, his mask, and there
38:57was Kamala Harris, the appearance changes, the identity politics change, but the actual
39:04policies, the concrete things the American people care about doesn't change.
39:09So tomorrow, at the end of the day, is really a vote between Tweedledee, Tweedledum, stomach
39:13cancer or liver cancer.
39:15Whoever wins tomorrow, the American people lose.
39:19I ask you, Professor, to hold that thought, because we will come back to those ideas.
39:23And now we welcome one of our special guests of the night, that is Dan Kovalec, who joins
39:30us tonight also to continue analyzing the event that is happening tomorrow that has
39:36already been happening.
39:38Dan is a lawyer and professor specialized in human rights.
39:42Welcome to United States Decides.
39:44Thank you for joining us.
39:49So Dan, I would like to ask you just to begin.
39:53One of the most relevant issues that has affected U.S. political life during this year has been
40:00the rejection towards the support of Israel by, we've seen demonstrations that have been
40:07unprecedented, at least in the past years.
40:10I would like to ask you your opinion on how this could impact the electoral process that
40:15we are going on and that we are analyzing tonight.
40:18Yeah, I think it may spell the defeat of Kamala Harris, because in states like Michigan, you
40:27mentioned was an important swing state.
40:28You mentioned had the largest Arab-American community.
40:33By and large, the Arab-American community will not vote for her.
40:37They will either vote for Trump or they will vote for a third party.
40:40I don't know one.
40:42I know many Palestinians.
40:43I know many other Arabs in my life.
40:46I don't know one that's going to vote for Harris because they're not going to vote for
40:51Janice Adair.
40:53I'm not going to vote for Janice Adair.
40:55I'm going to vote. I already voted by mail.
40:57I voted for Jill Stein, third party.
40:59By the way, I'm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, so I'm in Pennsylvania swing state.
41:04Donald Trump is literally right across the street.
41:07Right, I can see the building he's in right now.
41:10Kamala Harris is just up the river.
41:12So my city and my state are some of the most central, most important voting areas in the
41:20country. And again, I know many people that will just not vote for Kamala Harris because
41:26of the support she and Biden have had for the genocide.
41:30And, you know, we are people who otherwise might have voted for them.
41:35Right. Might have voted Democrat because we tend to be more liberal on other issues.
41:40But we're not going to do that. So I think she could end up losing because of that one
41:45issue. Exactly.
41:49So making a point of what you were saying, there's been a lot of discussion, for example,
41:54in the past days of these candidates, the Republican Democrat candidates, trying to win that
42:00Arab vote in the swing states.
42:02But moving past the election itself, are we looking at different scenarios regarding the
42:07genocide in the Middle East with these two alternatives?
42:13I mean, no, probably.
42:15Is there a difference between the two major candidates?
42:18Probably not. I mean, Trump was terrible on the Palestinian issue.
42:23He moved the U.S.
42:25embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which was a very provocative act to the
42:31Palestinians. He cut off aid to UNRWA, if you recall.
42:40Of course, so did the U.S.
42:42Congress with Biden signing into law a bill that said that the U.S.
42:49can't supply UNRWA till 2025.
42:54But the point is, both parties are trying to compete with each other as to who is more
43:00pro-Zionist. So I think on that issue, probably there's no difference.
43:06But again, I think for me and other activists around the Gaza issue and Palestine
43:13issue, our problem is that the party right now in power are the Democrats, and
43:20they're the ones carrying out the genocide.
43:23As bad as Trump may be, he's not carrying out the genocide.
43:28So we feel we have to punish that party.
43:30So one more thing, just to keep on topic, one of the things that really marked this
43:41year, as we were saying, have been the demonstrations in the U.S.
43:44that were also spread throughout the world in rejection of the support to the
43:49genocide in Palestine.
43:50And this fueled for a minute there the construction, the possibility of construction
43:56of a political alternative beyond that two party system, beyond the candidates, as you
44:01were saying, both from the Democrat and the Republican Party.
44:05So how do you see that possibility at this point?
44:10I mean, that's a long term project.
44:13You know, first of all, we have several third party candidates and none of them are
44:20going to get more than one or two percentage of the votes.
44:27So we're a way, we're a long way off to building a political alternative to the two
44:32party system. And of course, our electoral system is built to prevent that.
44:38It's built to prevent third parties from growing and having any real impact.
44:45So, you know, it's a long way off.
44:49I don't see it even happening in the near to medium term future.
44:55What would have to happen is at least that one of the parties would get 5 percent of
45:00the vote, which would allow them to get federal funding for elections.
45:05That would help them a lot.
45:06But none of the parties are going to do that.
45:09So that, you know, is a disappointment.
45:15You know, Bobby Kennedy, he was polling at 20 percent at one time and then started to
45:23decline to something a little less than 10 percent.
45:26But maybe he could have gotten that 5 percent threshold.
45:31But of course, he left the race and supported Trump.
45:34So we're left with candidates that are not going to get that 5 percent.
45:40So I don't see, I don't see an alternative movement, political movement for some time.
45:49Of course, in any case, that would be, as you were saying, a long term alternative.
45:55It's always interesting to keep on thinking about this possibilities beyond the system
46:01that is installed until this point.
46:02I thank you, Dan Kovlik, for joining us here in United States Decides.
46:10Good night.
46:11So, Professor, I would like to continue on this point that we were just discussing about
46:16that possibility of thinking beyond the two party system.
46:21You mentioned some points before during our discussion.
46:24How do you see this perfected?
46:25Of course, our guest was just mentioning the idea that we are not talking about tomorrow.
46:30We are not talking about this election.
46:32But how's the possibility of thinking about an alternative to move past these restrictions
46:38that we've been talking about during this show?
46:41Well, right now they make it next to impossible to get a third party candidate on the ballot.
46:48Where I come from in New York State, you have to have 50,000 signatures of confirmed voters
46:54just to get a third party candidate on the ballot.
46:58And there are laws in every state which stipulate this reality.
47:04That means you need volunteers, you need resources.
47:08It's incredibly difficult.
47:10So in many states, they can't get Jill Stein from the Green Party or Dr. Cornel West or
47:16any of the other candidates there.
47:19We have to continue to build the people's movement.
47:22We should never give up on the American people.
47:24I think that's one of the greatest crimes of liberalism, liberalism known nowadays for
47:29its staples of identity, culture, politics, and cancel culture.
47:35It's fair to say that Hillary Clinton typifies this point when she called so many of the
47:41Trump-based deplorables a basket of deplorables without taking into account that it's this
47:47system and this media and its institutions, its dominant ideology that shapes people to
47:52be racist or xenophobic, to see other countries the way they do.
47:57They've never been exposed to other points.
48:00There's only one in three people in the United States that even have access to a passport.
48:06But we're trying to build that people's alternative, a people's poll.
48:10It's about popular education.
48:12It's about not giving up on the Midwest.
48:15It's about not giving up on the American people.
48:17It's about reaching deep back into our own traditions.
48:22What are the original American revolution fought by so many working class people of
48:27the day back in 1776?
48:31What was their anti-colonial vision?
48:34What were the good things that came out of the Federalist Papers and Alexander Hamilton?
48:39How can we not throw away the baby with the bathwater, but return the American flag to
48:45the American people because it's been usurped by the exploiters, by the genocidaires as
48:51Dan Kovulik just mentioned?
48:53It's going to take patience and perseverance as about a century ago, the leaders of the
49:00Russian Revolution, that was actually their slogan.
49:04Patience and perseverance, go deeper into the American people and not give up on them.
49:10That's really the only hope that we have and humanity has because we know Zionism is not
49:15going to stop.
49:16We know whether it's the Dixiecrats or the Republicans, the genocide is not going to
49:20stop.
49:22Only us, only we could be the subjectivity, the agency that stops this genocide in Gaza
49:27and across Palestine and across the Middle East.
49:30Danny, speaking regarding the third parties or the third options outside of the bipartisanship
49:39that is traditional in the politics of the US.
49:41We know that it is so difficult for them, precisely because of the electoral college,
49:47to break the glass ceiling that is imposed by the bipartisan system.
49:52But we have to take into account yesterday all of them were doing alliances.
49:57They were calling one another to, for example, tell the voters to join in some states, in
50:04some regions.
50:05And for example, the voters of Jill Stein, they were calling them to vote for other parties,
50:10to do alliances.
50:11And that is a way maybe to take away a few votes, just in the states with less representatives
50:19where there are leading politics, not loyal politics and not swing states.
50:25So it means they could, even a little harm, they can do a harm to the bipartisanship and
50:31they can do a little harm for one another of the candidates.
50:35What do you think about it?
50:37Certainly we're chipping away.
50:39The numbers are by no means conclusive, but it would be a certain poetic justice if that's
50:46the correct term.
50:47When we're talking about a holocaust, there is no correct term, there's no poetic term
50:52when you're describing a holocaust.
50:53But how ironic would it be that Genocide Joe and Genocidal Kamala, let's not forget she's
50:59the Vice President of the United States, has she ever said one word against the genocide?
51:04Has she ever critiqued the ongoing arms shipments?
51:08This is not an Israeli genocide, this is an Israeli Western U.S. genocide, so if in Michigan
51:16enough of those uncommitted voters go with Jill Stein or have a protest vote or have
51:20a boycott vote, maybe it'll come down to Michigan and wouldn't it be amazing if the native people
51:26of Palestine had this type of, I don't want to call it vengeance, but it would be that
51:34type of poetic justice.
51:37The third party candidates, most of the American people probably aren't even aware about Dr.
51:43Cornel West, the Harvard professor, someone who comes out of a black liberation theology,
51:50somebody who has gone across the U.S. in the name of peace, in the name of workers' rights
51:55and solidarity.
51:56This is somebody that we can actually trust, and because he actually stands up for the
52:01real workers' issues, that's why he's so sidelined and won't be on the ballot in many states
52:06because of this corporate duopoly, but hope is the last thing to be lost.
52:11We have a responsibility to always be optimistic, so there are many organizations out there
52:17that are building this momentum for the future.
52:21So we hope like this to continue bringing this analysis, this idea, not only to follow
52:27the electoral process as we have and as we will continue to tomorrow and throughout the
52:32week because of the impact it will have in the country and of course in the world, but
52:36also to continue debating these ideas and understanding how this democratic system affects
52:42the world and also has these gaps that could be rethought from an outside perspective.
52:49So like this, we would like to conclude this special program for today in which we have
52:53gone over the key topics regarding the selection process that will take place, will have its
52:59highlight tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5th.
53:02That's the show.
53:03I would like to thank you for joining us tonight and of course we wait for you tomorrow and
53:07during this week.
53:08Looking forward to it.
53:10Of course, and Gladys as well.
53:11It's always a pleasure to anchor this with you as always.
53:14Yeah, Bel, we will be here in this key day for you and I think this is a crucial election
53:20for them, for the American people, but also for the international geopolitics and we will
53:24see the outcome of this.
53:28That is correct.
53:29So we will continue bringing everything.
53:32My name is Belen De Los Santos and this was United States Decides 2024.