Letters | US midterm elections will highlight Trump effect

Readers discuss the Trump effect in the upcoming US midterm elections, and the direction China must choose to be a true global leader

Reading Time:3 minutes

Former US President Donald Trump gestures during a rally in Warren, Michigan, on October 1. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:30pm, 10 Oct 2022

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.

The US midterm elections on November 8 will be a referendum on former US president Donald Trump, whether traditional Republicans like it or not.

In September, Trump and his allies launched a new super PAC (political action committee), Maga Inc, as a way to fund Republican candidates in elections against Democrats. Trump has shown a knack for picking his horses. He is backing and endorsing Republicans all over the map in what the BBC has called an “extraordinary endorsement spree”, and his candidates have a good track record of winning races. The Trump effect will be tested on November 8.

The spotlight in the upcoming elections is on Elise Stefanik, a New York Republican. She emerged as the Republican Party’s new No 3 in the House of Representatives after Liz Cheney – a staunch Trump critic particularly over the January 6 Capitol riot – was dethroned from the party’s House leadership.

Trump calls Stefanik “one of my killers”; she was his biggest defender on the House Intelligence Committee during his first impeachment trial. Stefanik is expected to survive the midterms. The Republicans’ motto at the moment can be summed up as “Trump or perish”, although there seems to be consensus among Republicans that Trump should wait until after the midterms to announce his bid for the presidency in 2024.

The Republicans are likely to take control of both the House and the Senate in a red wave. In a month, we will know by what margins.

Iveta Cherneva, Sofia, Bulgaria