Election, trade and AI chaos

The US mid-term elections could prove contentious Keystone-SDA

Welcome to our press review of events in the United States. Every Wednesday we look at how the Swiss media have reported and reacted to three major stories in the US – in politics, finance and science.

Everything appeared chaotic in the US over the last week – from elections to trade policy and AI – according to the Swiss media.

The spectre of election rigging has already been raised Keystone-SDA

The US mid-term elections in November could shift the balance of power in both the House of Representatives and the Senate away from President Donald Trump. The Swiss media does not believe he means to play fair.

In an address to the nation on July 17, Trump spoke of Chinese interference in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden. He also mentioned that voting machines are highly vulnerable to foreign interference and voter fraud.

What does this all mean? Given that the Democrats look set to win back seats in three months’ time, Swiss public broadcaster SRF suspects that Trump could be preparing the nation for another bout of election chaos.

“Even after almost six years, Trump remains fixated—in fact, obsessed—with the idea that he was cheated out of the 2020 election,” said SRF’s US correspondent Andrea Christen. 

“Perhaps Trump’s aim is also to mobilise his base, which believes in voter fraud, for the upcoming election. Perhaps Trump is creating a pretext to intervene in the autumn election with the federal government – ​​for example, by having voting machines seized.”

In a separate interview with SRF, Christiane Lemke, professor Emeritus of political science at Leibniz University Hannover, called the speech a “strategic preparation for potential losses in the autumn”.

“After the election, Trump will need an explanation for why his party performed poorly,” she added. “And the explanation of foreign interference, of election manipulation, presents itself as a likely one.”

• Andrea Christen analysisExternal link – SRF (German)
  
• Christiane Lemke analysisExternal link – SRF (German)

Global trade is reeling from tariffs Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

A recent White House threat of 50% tariffs on certain Canadian goods has not gone down well in Switzerland, which is still trying to negotiate the best possible trade deal for itself.

For the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the “episode demonstrates that American companies and foreign trading partners will never achieve legal certainty regarding tariffs during Donald Trump’s presidency.”

“Switzerland must bear this in mind when the next tariff hammer falls. It must not delude itself into thinking that a ‘deal’ is the final word.”

The newspaper is concerned at the erratic nature of US trade policy, which makes life difficult for negotiators in any country. And waiting for a Democrat resurgence to turn the tide is likely to be a forlorn hope.

“Switzerland must abandon another illusion: that the US midterm elections this autumn will have a moderating influence on Trump’s trade policy,” the NZZ wrote.   “The China tariffs from Trump’s first term are the best proof that even highly controversial measures can survive a change of government. Joe Biden didn’t abolish them – they’re still in effect today.”

US tariff policy on shifting sandsExternal link – NZZ (German, paywall)

Is AI a threat to humanity? Keystone-SDA

AI For some experts, it was only a matter of time before artificial intelligence (AI) started to cause mischief of its own volition – outside of human control.

ChatGPT creator OpenAI has admitted that its advanced AI models went haywire during security tests by hacking the popular open-source platform Hugging Face on their own initiative.

The worrying development appears to vindicate concerns expressed by many insiders that the technology they are creating poses threats to humanity. “Never before have so many leading figures in artificial intelligence publicly expressed such strong concerns about the trajectory of their own discipline,” notes Swiss public broadcaster RTS. 

“For the first time, the question of whether humanity could one day be surpassed by the artificial intelligences it has created is no longer just a subject of fiction or philosophy.”

The US is not only losing control of its own AI models, it might be on the verge of ceding control of AI domination to China, according to Le temps.

“Chinese open source could dominate global AI, not because it consistently produces the best model, but because it becomes the foundation upon which thousands of companies build their tools,” the newspaper states.

“The United States maintains a lead in chips, processing power, and certain cutting-edge models. However, China could win another crucial battle: that of standards, dissemination, and influence.”

• AI vs humanity no longer fictionExternal link – RTS (French)
  
• How China could steal the US’s AI thunderExternal link – Le Temps (French, paywall)

The next edition of ‘Swiss views of US news’ will be published on Wednesday, July 29. See you then!

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