Three days ago the world was treated to fresh evidence on why the idea of America no longer inspires either Americans or non-Americans. An ex-president, Donald Trump, who is trying to return to office and an incumbent vice-president, Kamala Harris, who is running for the same office, engaged each other in a televised ‘debate’.

However, the format of the ’debate’ made it more of a boxing match than a discussion of new and innovative ideas. It was designed for TRPs and with 110 million people watching, or at least tuned in, the TV station was perhaps the only winner. Neither Trump nor Harris succeeded in changing how they are perceived by the voters — who, actually, may not matter very much because the American president is elected indirectly by an electoral college which can sometimes vote differently from what the popular votes indicate. This has happened a few times. The debate was meant to be about what should really matter to Americans. And it revealed in stark relief the paucity of political talent and ideas in the US. Even rhetoric, or what we call jumlas, was missing. Trump appealed, as always, to nationalism which is a collective abstraction, while Harris preferred individual rights and entitlements like healthcare and abortion. In that limited sense, it was not unlike the election strategies of the BJP and the Congress.

Trump called Harris a Marxist which is a term of abuse in the US — just like ‘running dog of capitalism’ used to be in China — and she almost called him a criminal because of all the pending court cases against him. That was the level of debate between two presidential candidates in a country that likes to see itself as a political exemplar to the rest of the world. Both promised future prosperity by ensuring low inflation and more jobs. They would have fooled no one, because neither had a ‘plan’ despite claiming to have one. Both dissed each other and were probably unable to convince American voters that they had any fresh ideas to offer. They were like Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and this problem is reflected in the near 50:50 political division in the country.

Overall, the debate is unlikely to have changed voter preferences and sentiment in the swing states which have a large number of undecided voters. The surveys a week from now will make things clearer. The pundits say that it’s unlikely to change very much and expect to remain within a margin of error of plus or minus 3 per cent. The wits are saying that they don’t know enough about Harris, and an equal number say they know everything they wanted to know about Trump. The rest of the world should be worried by what lies ahead because regardless of who wins, there is wide political and popular consensus over issues of trade and immigration policies. America could become even more disruptive because it no longer has the power to impose its writ. India and Indians should be wary of the prospect of a superpower blundering along without a sense of purpose.