'Donald Trump may win US Election - but major red flags mean he wouldn't stand a chance in Ireland'

With the US election upon us, thousands of Americans will have already cast their vote. It looks set to be an extremely close race - with Donald Trump currently leading the polls.

Some Americans may be interested in hearing an Irish perspective on the 2024 election, or perhaps just the thoughts of an outsider who doesn't exactly have skin in the game.

Americans may or may not be surprised to learn that the US election will be front-page news in Ireland from the start of next week onward. This makes a certain degree of sense, given the importance of the US in the Western world, but it does seem a little bit odd when you take into account the issues currently going on in Ireland, and the fact we have our own election later this year.

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Whatever happens in every other global election (aside from the UK) will barely register in the Irish news cycle. Perhaps this is just proof that the ties between Ireland and the US are as strong as ever.

Irish people tend to feel smug looking at the US - especially since Trump's arrival. A general consensus is that America is a madhouse, and that we would never allow such a crazy thing to happen over here. We also don't have a two-party system, meaning power should be more evenly distributed.

But, given we have had the same two parties in charge for almost the entirety of my 27 years on earth - I'm not sure how superior we should feel.

In Ireland though, we do have an objectively better way of electing our officials - the PR-STV. It's not perfect, but it's a lot better than how it's done in the US. How is it fair that a candidate could receive millions more votes and still not win the election? Americans 50 years from now may look back on this way of doing things with great shame and confusion.

One thing that is believed by many in Ireland is that a Trump-like figure would never be voted into power over here. Though we may find out sooner than we would like to if Conor McGregor follows through on his promise - though I wouldn't hold my breath.

From a personal perspective, I have always been fascinated by US politics, and always loved learning about US presidents. This died a bit when Trump was elected. Not that the rest of them were saints - in fact the opposite is more accurate - but I personally felt as though he simply wasn't fitting of such a historic role. The way he spoke wasn't presidential, nor was the manner in which he carried himself - which is seemingly what ended up drawing many to him.

With regard to this election, if I were a US citizen, I'd vote for Kamala Harris. The way Trump speaks about women is abhorrent, he has been convicted of sex offences, and he is a convicted felon. For these reasons, if he were running in Ireland, he wouldn't stand a chance.

He has also fanned the flames of racism and promises dangerous legislation for LGBTQ+ people - two issues close to my heart.

The way he has spoken about the troops in the past is also a red flag, and while this does not mean much to the people of Ireland, it would be interesting to hear what Republicans would think if Kamala Harris had been quoted as calling America's soldiers "losers".

To me, it's a no-brainer. Trump simply should not be the president of a country. However, it's not as if Kamala Harris is a perfect candidate. Far from it. The Irish people have made it clear that we recognize Palestine, and that the ongoing violence in Gaza should be stopped at all costs. Meanwhile, Kamala has said that if elected, she will "ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself."

If somebody pro-Palestine said that they couldn't vote for Kamala and sleep at night when they know well what her intentions are, I would totally understand. However, Trump has essentially said the same thing, so it seems as though both parties finally found something they're in agreement over - death and destruction of innocent lives.

There is a lot to admire about the US. It's a truly incredible place with millions of extraordinary people and ideas being brought to life every day. But this election sums up everything that the rest of the world fails to respect about the so-called Home of the Free.

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