Portuguese politicians weigh in on US election
Hugo Soares - the Secretary-General and parliamentary group leader of the governing PSD party - said he wouldn't be able to choose between Trump and Kamala.
In an interview with the newspaper Expresso, Hugo Soares said that he would find it difficult to pick between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris if he were a US voter.
The ruling Partido Social Democrata (PSD) party Secretary-General and current leader of its parliamentary group, said that while he had “profound disagreements” with the Republican candidate’s way of being and doing politics, he also knows “very little” about Kamala Harris to be able to have a definitive position.
“Let’s be clear: she wasn’t a Vice-President who has made (enough) of a mark, so that the world, more than the United States, could get to know her thinking in depth,” said Soares.
On the other hand, the Social Democrat said it is “well known” that he has disagreements with Donald Trump.
The PSD has not declared its support for any of the candidates in the US presidential elections, but Hugo Soares’ stance is already generating reactions.
Reactions
On social media, pundit Pedro Marques Lopes writes that Hugo Soares “can't be of a right mind” and classifies the statement as “unbelievable”, “nonsensical” and “absurd”.
Also on the social network X (formerly Twitter), pundit Daniel Oliveira asks: ‘How long will it be before we continue to pretend that this is the “moderate” PSD with which to make agreements in the centre?”
On his weekly Sunday night TV slot, political commentator Luís Marques Mendes condemned the ‘hesitation’ of those who won't choose between Trump and Kamala.
“Firstly, for a reason of principle: Kamala Harris respects the rules of democracy; Donald Trump does not,” he said, referring to the fact that the candidate has not accepted defeat in the 2020 elections.
But the former Social Democrat leader also said that he believes it is necessary to take this position for the sake of “foreign policy”. “Trump despises Europe, the Democrats have a constructive relationship with Europe,” added the commentator.
Communist position
A few days later, the secretary-general of the Portuguese Communist Party, Paulo Raimundo, said that he would choose ‘neither one nor the other’, and would try to find a candidate who responds to two fundamental problems’ facing the US, injustice and poverty."
Paulo Raimundo also said that he “wouldn't vote blank”, pointing out that in the United States there are more than two candidates and that “we don't know them, but one day we'll talk about them”.
The PCP leader added that it's not possible to resolve US issues by choosing the “least bad” candidate and that the country’s problems have constantly worsened.
“I would look for a candidate who is a promoter of peace and not an instrument at the service of the big militaristic companies, which is what is happening. That’s what happened with Trump’s mandate four years ago, that's what's happened during Biden's mandate over the last four years,” added the PCP’s secretary-general.
As a U.S. citizen who fled my country to seek safety and a better life here in Portugal, these reckless words from some of Portugal's leaders are beyond cringey and show their cluelessness. I am not a fan of what the Democrats have become over the course of my lifetime, but the choice of who to vote for couldn't be more clear. A second Trump presidency (or any Republican president at this point) would mean never being able to vote meaningfully again and will exacerbate the already growing mass suffering in the U.S. and beyond, including that of many vulnerable people I love and care for dearly back in the States. These men should be ashamed to behave as though the moral choice isn't crystal clear.