2024-09-16
7 分钟The Economist. Hi, John Priddo here.
I host Checks and Balance, our podcast on US politics.
Welcome to Editors Picks.
Here's an article from the latest edition of The Economist handpicked by our team and read aloud.
I hope you enjoy it.
Even without Donald Trump on the ballot, American elections tend to create conflict.
America is the only proper presidential democracy in which the person who wins the most votes does not necessarily win power.
The two-month gap between voting and election certification in Congress is the most drawn out anywhere.
Complexity invites legal challenges, which add to the complexity.
For all those reasons, American elections demand patience and trust.
Unfortunately, the country comes joint last among the G7 on trust in the judiciary,
and dead last on belief that its elections are honest.
And then there is Mr Trump.
At the debate in Philadelphia this week, the former president was angry and aggrieved.
He repeated his false and outrageous claim that the election in 2020 was stolen,
an assertion that nearly 70% of Republican voters say they endorse.
He and his party are gearing up to wage the post-election war a second time.
Both parties argue that victory for the other side would threaten American democracy.
For Mr Trump, personally, the stakes are even higher.
If he loses, he could go to prison.