Quarterly Essay 95: High Noon

Is the United States disintegrating? Don Watson offers a report from the United States that catches the madness and theatre of an election like no other. This is a historically informed, mordant account of Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and a country approaching democratic high noon. From Los Angeles to New York, from Detroit to Kalamazoo, Watson observes America in all its diversity and conflict, reality and unreality. Above all, he sees the threat posed by Trump and his movement, with its blend of menace and glee, Great Replacement theory and electoral malpractice. Do Harris and the Democrats have what it takes? Can America mend its divisions? Do enough of its voters even want to? An essential essay about a crucial moment of choice.