Jamaican followers of American politics must be having the time of their lives. It’s much like watching a Netflix series in which each episode is more intriguing than the previous one, and no one can really predict what’s coming next.

In less than a week, Vice-President Kamala Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father, obliterated a seemingly unassailable six-point lead being enjoyed by Former President Donald Trump, who seemed on course to triumph in the November 5, 2024 presidential elections.

At the start of the week, Democrats were floundering in the uncharted waters of US politics, divided between those who wanted President Joe Biden to step aside because of questions about his age and mental acuity, and those who were standing by the defiant leader.

And when he suddenly stepped down as the Democratic candidate and endorsed Ms Harris, Mr Biden unleashed an enthusiasm and energy that the party is comparing with the campaign of Mr Barack Obama, the ultra-popular, first black American president.

But this is no Netflix series. The world’s most powerful country — Jamaica’s main trading partner and the favourite second home of migrating Jamaicans — appeared to be locked in a bitter electoral battle that is being cast as a fight to save democracy.

For sure, even the most cantankerous historian will agree that there has not been any period like this in over 200 years of US history.

It started with Mr Trump denouncing his loss in the 2020 elections to Mr Biden and rejecting more than 60 court cases finding no evidence of his claims that widespread fraud led to his defeat.

The January 6, 2021 storming of the capitol at the behest of Mr Trump, his subsequent holding onto classified documents after leaving office, and accusations of business fraud in New York led to 91 indictments in four states.

Worse, he became the first president to be convicted on 34 counts of fraud, for trying to cover up an affair with a porn film star that could have upended his eventual 2016 victory as the 45th president.

With all that, Mr Trump, backed by millions of adoring followers, re-emerged as the Republican presidential candidate.

After Mr Biden’s abysmal performance in the first debate, followed by a failed assassination attempt at a rally, Mr Trump took the lead in the opinion polls and seemed unstoppable.

Whether Mr Biden’s decision to step down was forced upon him, or a masterstroke akin to a political genius, the Harris candidacy has completely turned the election campaign on its head and has left the Republicans struggling to find an effective counter.

In the effort to define Vice-President Harris, Mr Trump has resorted to attacking her race and gender and hurling insults at her, including calling her “dumb as a rock”, “garbage”, and “a lunatic”.

Worried that that kind of attack could backfire, Republican Speaker of the House Mr Mike Johnson urged his party not to indulge in racism and misogyny against the Democratic candidate.

Ms Harris’s campaign has been raising record amounts of money and inspiring thousands of people, mainly young people, African Americans and Latinos, notably women to register to vote and to volunteer to do campaign work.

But former President Barack Obama has cautioned against the giddiness among Democrats, stressing that Ms Harris is still the underdog in the race and would still need to earn the trust of voters.