Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I do not know whether the Taoiseach watched the US presidential debate last week. It was a spectacle that in many ways is like a microcosm of the death agony or decline of US imperialism. On the one hand, there was a man who is a congenital liar who basically could not open his mouth without telling a lie, a sexual abuser and an authoritarian, hard-right politician who encouraged an insurrection after losing the last election and, on the other, facing off against him, was an extreme establishment politician of the Democratic Party who could not coherently string a sentence or argument together and who continues to fund Israeli genocide against the Palestinians. It is no wonder, therefore, that parts of the Democratic Party establishment are scrambling to see whether Biden can be moved aside and an alternative can be put in place. Many ordinary Americans hope a credible alternative to Trump can be offered at the next election but ultimately, this does not come down to personality; it comes down to politics.

The agreement on the question of Palestine in the debate was striking. In fact, Trump criticised Biden for saying Hamas is the reason there is no ceasefire. Trump actually told the truth and said it was not because of Hamas but because of Israel, but he was actually supporting Israel going on. The word "Palestinian" was used as an insult, with nobody challenging it, by Trump against Biden. What is needed is an alternative to this profit-based system based on exploitation, environmental destruction, racism and support for genocide.

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