NEITHER TRUMP NOR HARRIS GOOD FOR AFRICANS

With polling underway in the US, the Black vote could prove decisive. Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to woo our brothers and sisters in America, in a race that’s billed to be one of the tightest yet. Unfortunately, Black voters face a conundrum, as neither party really has their interests at heart.

While Trump is openly racist, Harris is widely seen as part of the imperalist establishment. She’s been compared to Obama: the Black vote was crucial to his first victory, yet he deeply disappointed many by prioritising bailouts for the banks that caused the 2008 financial crisis over support for the hardest-hit (including Black) communities.

Topics such as reparations and the prison-industrial complex have gone largely unaddressed in this cycle of electioneering.

For Africa, too, there’s little optimism about either outcome in the 2024 US presidential race. Red and blue administrations alike have beefed up America’s military presence on our continent. The argument that Uncle Sam is providing essential security is for the birds, as stats show terrorism has only spiked in places like the Sahel, where America’s intervened.

Whatever happens on 5 November, it will be business as usual in US-Africa relations, and for the oppressors of the stateside diaspora.