Zambia: US political earthquake

A political earthquake is a natural social event that occurs when pent-up energy suddenly releases throughout the political crust, causing the entire political foundation of the United States to shake. This has occurred in the United States because the severe political pressures that have built up over the past 8 years have exceeded the strength of the solid rock that maintains our political stability. The pressure that was released caused politics to break along the fault line of the left-wing progressive or liberal Democratic Party and the right-wing conservative Republican Party.

This earthquake has released tremendous political energy in the form of seismic social waves that are now moving rapidly through the political arena, causing tremors. Whether you can feel the political ground shaking depends on how far away you are from the epicenter of the earthquake. Even if you are 7,600 miles or 12,000 kilometers away in Zambia, you will eventually feel the tremors of this political earthquake. What caused this political earthquake? How did it start? What are the consequences?

In 2016, the nation was shocked, fearful, anxious, and nervous when Republican candidate Donald Trump narrowly won the presidential election, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton lost but won the popular vote by 3 million votes. Trump was clearly seen as a terrible candidate. Over the next 8 years, Trump acted in the most provocative and unusual ways every day, saying terrible divisive things, breaking conventions, committing crimes, and advocating bad policies. The list of Trump’s terribleness is too numerous to list, including his two impeachments, his incitement of the January 6 insurrection in which Trump supporters violently broke into the U.S. Capitol, his 34 criminal court convictions, and the heightened political tensions between the Democratic Party and Trump supporters who call themselves “Make America Great Again” or “Make America Great Again” Republicans.

The Democratic Party and President Biden are sure that they can beat Trump in the election again, just like they won in 2020 with 7 million popular votes. The debate between Trump and Biden on June 27, 2024 changed the political landscape. President Biden performed very badly. All these events in the past 8 years have increased the stress and tension in the country. On July 24, 2024, a huge political earthquake occurred when President Biden withdrew from the race and supported Vice President Kamala Harris, a black woman.

In the space of minutes, hours, and days, countless online groups spontaneously formed on Zoom in support of Harris’ campaign. That Sunday, 44,000 Black women raised $1.6 million on Zoom to support Harris’ campaign. Later that week, 7,500 Latina women joined two calls, and more than 9,000 women spoke up for South Asian women on Zoom. White women made up the largest voting bloc in support of Harris on Zoom, with 164,000 participants. Most astoundingly, 70,000 members of the Republican opposition switched to support Harris’ Democratic candidacy, meeting online. This would have been unthinkable a month ago.

As you read this, these political aftershocks are still going on. After Harris picked Tim Waltz as her vice presidential running mate, the two traveled to five key political swing states in the United States to hold large, raucous rallies. The Harris-Waltz campaign said 12,000 people attended rallies in Philadelphia, 12,000 in Wisconsin, 15,000 in Detroit, Michigan, 15,000 in Arizona, and 12,000 in Nevada.

The consequence of this political earthquake is that everything negative that Americans have known, felt and believed in the past 8 years has been turned upside down. Many opposition Republicans are now openly supporting Democrat Harris without fear of intimidation and threats of violence from Trump’s “Make America Great Again” supporters. A feeling of despair, bitterness, frustration permeates the entire country because so much hatred, abuse and fear have been spread and incited by Trump’s “Make America Great Again” Republicans. Through the 2025 plan, Trump and the “Make America Great Again” Republicans threatened that they would impose a dictatorship or autocracy in the United States and end democracy if Trump wins the election in November. This has terrified most Americans.

At a massive rally attended by 15,000 people, Harris and Waltz said Trump, his vice presidential running mate JD Vance, and the MAGA Republicans “took the joy out of this country!!!!” The excited crowd cheered. Harris and Waltz’s Democratic candidacy has made the country rejoice again. The rally’s slogan was: “We will not back down!!!” The aftershocks of the political earthquake caused by the Democratic Party will continue at the party’s political convention in Chicago next week.

I have lived in the United States for 47 years since 1977 and have never experienced a political earthquake. I was an infantryman or cadre and campaigned for President Obama in 2008. That campaign was very historic because Obama was the first black president. Nothing can compare to the political excitement I experienced during Kamala Harris’ political campaign.

If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the election this November, she will become the first woman, Black woman, and Asian American woman president of the United States. In Zambia, we would call her a person of color. She will be the most powerful woman in the world and the commander-in-chief of the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America.

She will command the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Space Force, and U.S. Coast Guard. Her presidency will have a huge impact on 195 countries around the world. There are too many countries in the world where women are strong political leaders. But women in these countries have been told that they can’t be president of their country because they are women. But this will change that. Will Zambia be one of the countries with a female president? There are only 79 days left until election day.

By: Mwizenge S. Tembo, PhD

Professor Emeritus of Sociology