America's European allies have a clear preference when it comes to the outcome of the 2024 Election.
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Apart from Canada, the US probably has no greater ally than European democracies. They are not only connected through a common history but also shared values and economic interests.
Therefore, it is not surprising that these countries are paying especially close attention to American politics and this presidential race. In fact, because they are not influenced by Fox News and the rest of the right-wing propaganda apparatus, many Europeans probably have a better sense of what is going on in the US than many Americans.
And, due to their proximity and familiarity with Russia, they are also very aware of the havoc Vladimir Putin’s regime has been trying to wreak both in Europe and in North America.
Finally, many of them either have their own experiences with fascism or were the victims of it.
Put it all together, and what has been happening in the US has been truly mystifying to Europeans.
In the past decade, they witnessed the rise of Donald Trump, got a taste of the chaos he created while in office, cheered on his loss in 2020, and then scratched their heads when he revived his political career.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Europeans have a clear preference in this election: Kamala Harris.
In fact, if they were allowed to vote, they would be one of the Democrats’ most reliable voting blocs. That is not necessarily because their political views align on every issue but because they seem to understand the threat that Trump poses much better than Americans.
According to a new YouGov study, people in Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Denmark are rooting for another Trump loss… by significant margins.
Denmark is leading the way.
Here, 81 percent of people want Harris to win the election, and just 7 percent are rooting for Trump. The results are fairly similar across the board.
The former president only cracks 20 percent of support in Italy (24 percent), but even there he gets crushed by Harris (46 percent).
What is especially interesting is that even supporters of Europe’s big right-of-center parties support the Democrat over the Republican.
For example, more than three-quarters (78 percent) of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union want Harris to win, and she is also the preferred candidate of nearly six in ten (58 percent) supporters of Britain’s Conservatives.
Perhaps the most remarkable finding of the poll is that even the voters of some of Europe’s far-right parties hope Trump loses.
In France, supporters of Marine Le Pen prefer Harris over Trump by 49 percent to 31 percent.
Elsewhere, only the parties best described as anything between nationalist and fascist hope that the Republican will prevail on Tuesday.
Another issue on which people in all countries agree is whether they expect there to be violence if Trump loses.
Taken together, three times as many Europeans (63 percent) believe that there will be violence than Europeans who think that Trump supporters will remain peaceful if the former president is defeated once more.
Of course, if you look a bit further east, Trump has one of his strongest supporters: Putin.
For the third election in a row, Russia is doing its utmost to get Trump elected.
Americans may want to ask themselves why it is that Europe’s democracies, among the strongest US allies, hope Harris gets elected, while America’s greatest adversary of the past 80 years is backing Trump.
