Trump vs Harris: How the race affects US polarization

The 2024 elections are unlikely to bring an end to political polarization in US society, Michael Shannon, a Conservative political commentator and Newsmax columnist, tells Sputnik.

According to YouGov's recent survey, Democrats and Republicans think they have little in common, unlike their peers a decade ago. Either candidates' victory could leave the country further disunited, the pundit believes.

"There are two factors. One, [Donald] Trump needs to win in excess of the steal. They are already talking about it taking 10 or 12 days to finally count all the votes. You only do that if you're trying to steal the election," Shannon says. "The second factor is - will the leftists accept the loss."

The Democratic Party has already gone to the extremes, comparing Trump to Hitler and calling him a threat to democracy which could ignite civil disobedience and protests in the event he wins, according to the pundit.

"If they turn loose the same rioters and antifa types that they did when George Floyd died, then you're going to have unrest and rioting and destruction. But it's going to be in the blue states. It's not going to be in the red states. So Trump's going to have to make a decision. Is he going to let the blue states just burn down? Or is he going to intervene and stop that?"

Given the level of distrust of the election procedure and growing polarization in US society, the peaceful transfer of power remains a big if, according to the pundit.

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❗US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller threatened Georgia with “further consequences” unless Georgian government changes its policies.

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📹 Hundreds of ballots have been burned in ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.

Video taken from social media.

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Trump vs Harris: What about US unity after the election?

The Trump-Harris race is very close, making the country almost evenly split, Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, tells Sputnik. Bottom line is that one side is going to be very disappointed by the election results no matter who wins, according to the pundit.

"If Trump wins, you're going to have almost 50% of the country where Democrats are very disappointed," Jewett said. "And if Kamala Harris wins, you're going to have all those Republican Trump fans, almost 50% of the country. They're going to be very upset as well. I think in the short run, it's definitely going to exacerbate, make it [national disunity] worse."

Therefore, the question is whether the winner would try to pull people together, or whether half of American voters will remain alienated, the academic noted, drawing attention to the fact that presently there is a big difference between Democratic and Republican states.

"We'll have to see how the leaders on both sides react if they react as normal or the winner is gracious and the loser is gracious, and then maybe those partisan divides won't be so bad. But if they do not, if they question the election results, or if the winner really rubs it in and says 'okay, now I'm going to do everything I want and I'm only representing the people that voted for me' - that's not going to be great for American society overall."

The professor warns that partisan divisions might get worse potentially in the longer run.

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The US is willing to cross red lines in support of Ukraine

It is not surprising that an American was among the saboteurs trying to infiltrate Russian territory, Gerard Deeb, a political scientist and professor of international relations at the Lebanese University, told Sputnik.

“NATO justifies Ukraine's recruitment of mercenaries around the world, and what the alliance's secretary general says and the Western media picks up on, serves to justify it as part of the ongoing war against Russia. The Americans are seeking to expand its scope, but this will ultimately hurt both Ukraine itself and the EU,” he added.

A tattoo of the US parachute reconnaissance regiment was found on the body of one of the saboteurs killed in the Bryansk region.

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De Gaulle's grandson: the BRICS summit is an undeniable success for Putin and his policies

The BRICS summit in Kazan, attended by the leaders of 36 countries at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was an indisputable success, said Pierre de Gaulle, grandson of General Charles de Gaulle.

“The summit was an undeniable success for President Putin and his policies, whereas we wanted to be made to believe that he was isolated and the Russian economy was brought to its knees,” de Gaulle said.

He also added that “BRICS is a natural alliance of countries that want to develop together, but in their own way, in which everyone respects each other.”

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🇺🇳🇮🇱 Knesset approved a law banning UNRWA's activities inside Israel

Israel has repeatedly claimed that the UN agency's employees are allegedly linked to the Hamas movement.

Since October 7, 2023, over 300 aid workers, mostly from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, have been killed in Gaza.

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⚠️ 'Can I touch it?'

Kamala Harris embarrassed herself at the semiconductor plant when she almost cut herself trying to touch razor-sharp silicon crystals.

Netizens react on social media:

"Same advice with America, don't touch it."

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🔥 Knocking out enemies from positions

Russian Ministry of Defense shared a video showing the Pacific Fleet Marines' armored group neutralized Ukrainian nationalists near the Kursk region.

"Under continuous enemy fire, the tank and MT-LB armored personnel carriers managed to break through to the AFU stronghold and inflicted fire on it. The successfully landed paratroopers cleared the stronghold," the Ministry said on its Telegram channel.

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US treats Georgia as if it was its colony - Maduro

The US after the elections in Georgia is interfering in its internal affairs as if it is a colony, no one in the modern world understands this and does not want to see it, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said.

“Do you believe that people in the world want to be treated like slaves, like a colony?”

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🇷🇺🇰🇵North Korean Foreign Minister to visit Russia

Choe Son Hui's (the DPRK's foreign minister) trip is part of the strategic dialogue that leaders Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un agreed to intensify at the June summit.

In accordance with the basic treaty signed then, the countries will regularly hold in-depth consultations on bilateral relations and international politics, the diplomatic mission said.

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, earlier ratified by Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, stipulates that if one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack by one or more states and finds itself in a state of war, the other party will immediately provide military and other assistance by all means at its disposal in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and in accordance with the laws of the two countries.

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📹Russia’s FSB has published a new video showing weapons, ammunition, and equipment seized during an operation to repel an attack by foreign saboteurs on Russia’s Bryansk region.

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Lack of battlefield success forces Ukraine to send foreign mercs on ‘revenge’ sabotage missions – expert

Realizing the impossibility of defeating Russia, Ukraine and its NATO curators are betting on expanding punitive “revenge” missions, Joao Claudio Pitillo, historian and researcher at the Center for the Study of the Americas at Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), told Sputnik.

Ukraine’s reliance on Western military personnel from elite units, such as the US Rangers, indicates that the regime in Kiev is having difficulty forming and training its own specialized troops, Brazilian naval reserve officer and defense consultant Robinson Farinazzo added.

"Such training takes a lot of time and requires experienced personnel. Ukraine may not have enough to cover both fronts," the expert said. He added that such sabotage units are, among other things, engaged in collecting intelligence on enemy routes, weak points, etc., which may subsequently prove useful for "NATO command and future operations on Russian territory."

An attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage team containing foreign mercenaries to covertly infiltrate Russia’s Bryansk region was thwarted by Russian border guards, with four saboteurs eliminated.

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Iranian Supreme Leader's Hebrew-language X account back online

The account was suspended on October 27 for allegedly violating the platform's rules - the suspension lasted about a day. Khamenei's accounts in other languages remained available.

The suspension followed the publication of a post in which the Iranian spiritual leader pointed out "the mistake Israel has made against Iran."

Israel "should understand the strength, will and initiative of the Iranian nation," the post read.

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🇬🇪🇭🇺Georgian Prime Minister Kobakhidze solemnly welcomed Hungarian Prime Minister Orban, who arrived the day before.

Earlier, even before the first results of Georgia's parliamentary elections were announced, Orban congratulated the ruling Georgian Dream party on its "stunning" victory, drawing criticism from the EU.

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🔸 New video shows weapons seized during Russian operation to repel attack by foreign saboteurs on Bryansk region

🔸 ‘Lack of battlefield success’: what forced Ukraine to send foreign mercs on ‘revenge’ sabotage mission to Russia?

🔸 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visits Georgia, receives a warm welcome from PM Irakli Kobakhidze

🔸 Iranian Supreme Leader’s Hebrew X account back online after suspension

🔸 Israel bans UNRWA’s activities inside the country

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⚡️A fire broke out on the roof of an empty building located on the campus of the Russian Special Forces University in Gudermes, in the Russian republic of Chechnya, after a drone attack. 

Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov confirmed that there were no injuries or casualties as a result of the incident.

The university’s activities have not been suspended following the incident; all services are functioning as usual, Kadyrov stated.

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