In this commentary John Kane examines the lead-up to the 2024 US election and argues that the whole system is at a crucial junction with the country enveloped in ‘uncertainty and fear’. He argues that this crisis has long been in the making due to crucial weaknesses and contradictions in American society and its political system. He finds there is ‘a deeply reactionary tendency’ at odds with its ‘liberal and progressive ideals’. The weaknesses in the system are scrutinised along with the transformation of the Republican Party from a traditional conservative party to a party dominated by Trump and then considers what next.