Abuse of power

It is totally unacceptable that some political leaders in power use state institutions and structures for their electoral interests. A clear distinction must be made between the legitimate performance of public management thanks to the mandate given by citizens in free and democratic elections and strictly partisan political acts that must be held outside institutional headquarters and financed exclusively by the personal of the candidate and the party within an electoral campaign. We can be exaggerated and purist when we demand exquisite respect for this type of detail, but it becomes transcendent when it has been gradually undermined and it turns out that in the end there is not the slightest scruple or respect for the manipulation of institutions for one's own benefit.

The case is clear: Donald Trump used the White House, the seat of the US Presidency, for the final act of the Republican Party Convention with the confirmation of his candidacy for re-election. Furthermore, the act was an outrageous provocation and contempt for the thousands of victims of the coronavirus. Some 1,500 guests stood at a safe distance and most of them were not wearing masks, applauding and cheering the eccentric candidate backed by his family and presented by his daughter Ivanka with official powers and responsibilities, together with her husband Jared Kushner, which were somewhat blurred between American interests and the family's own business interests. The aim of populist leaders, those who are less populist or simply use the levers of democracy to achieve power and then use institutional power and resources to maintain themselves at all costs, is to offer voters the image that links the seat of the presidency to themselves.

Marketing specialists say that a large part of citizens come to relate to the place they use for their actions and that it has a great influence when it comes to voting. In this case, Trump has made a shameless and rude abuse of power by displaying arrogant and grandiloquent actions as if he did not have to answer to anyone and by demonizing his political opponent. The case is very serious because this is one of the most powerful countries in the world that boasts the best democracy. Nothing and nobody is perfect and the resources of power are not always used cleanly and democratically. All countries have sewer politics, but such a blatantly partisan use of the White House, the alleged discrediting of the postal vote and other acts of Trump continue to cause enormous general concern.