USA

A diversifying country is also a less trusting one, as Robert Putnam discovered—so the stressing of a common American identity is more essential than ever.

Last May, when Donald Trump held a campaign rally at Crotona Park in the South Bronx, he became the first Republican to visit the New York neighborhood for a national campaign event in 40 years. The neighborhood’s congressional district, NY-15, has long been a Democratic stronghold, with a Partisan Voting Index score of D+35 from the Cook Political Report. It is America’s poorest congressional district, with a median household income of just $32,381 in 2021 and more than one-third of households falling below the federal poverty line. Sixty-four percent of South Bronx residents identify as Hispanic, while 31 percent are black; foreign-born residents make up 32 percent of the district’s population.

Donald Trump enjoys a huge lead among men, while women tell pollsters they prefer Kamala Harris by a similarly large margin. The political gender gap reflects a decade of social upheaval and could help decide the US election.

For the first woman of colour to secure a presidential nomination, and only the second woman to ever get this close, Kamala Harris goes to great lengths not to talk about her identity.

“Listen, I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” the vice-president said in a CNN interview last month.