US election, global conflicts discussed at Kathimerini-Delphi Forum panel
Right after the conclusion of the 12th Athens Democracy Forum, Kathimerini and the Delphi Economic Forum co-hosted a discussion on the upcoming US presidential elections.
Four New York Times journalists spent over an hour discussing Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the impact of woke culture, and the war in Ukraine, in a conversation moderated by Kathimerini’s Executive Editor Alexis Papachelas.
Roger Cohen, head of the New York Times Paris bureau, argued that Trump’s candidacy is largely driven by immigration issues.
“I think Trump equals the immigration issue. I mean, that’s where it started,” he said, adding that the most memorable line from the Trump-Harris debate was, “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats.”
Liz Alderman, the NYT’s chief European business correspondent, suggested that increased economic inequality is a major reason why many people will vote for Trump, and she predicted that he would likely return to an “America First” approach.
“Trump is basically saying, we’re going to penalize everybody because we’re going to put America first even more than we did before,” she said.
Addressing the potential for political violence, editorial board member Jyoti Thottam noted that the United States is facing a challenging period, while columnist Pamela Paul highlighted the surge in gun ownership.
Cohen said he would not rule out the possibility of violence if Trump loses, citing Trump’s statement that if he loses, “there will be bloodshed.”
Turning to Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the speakers commented that her plans, should she be elected, lack specificity. However, they suggested that even if her administration included some familiar faces from the current administration, she would not shy away from pursuing different policies.
Regarding the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, the panelists noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hopeful for a Trump victory, while they expressed skepticism about a clear resolution to the war in Ukraine.
Switching focus to Greece, Alderman, who extensively covered the country’s decade-long financial crisis, noted that ten years ago, no one could have imagined the progress Greece has since achieved.
