In the past few days, "lame ducks" have been making noise in the English-language press. The expression is being aimed at the French president, now considered weakened both on the national and international stage. "He is a lame duck hobbling towards the end of his scheduled term of office in 2027, and not even sure of getting that far," wrote the Times in a cutting commentary. "Lame-Duck Macron is now a sitting duck too," declared the Bloomberg news agency.
The "lame duck" is a bird that mainly inhabits the American political bestiary. In its broadest sense, it refers to a wounded politician, or to extend the ornithological metaphor, one who has lost their feathers: They remain in office, but have lost power, international influence and, most often, popularity.
In the United States, the term has been used since the mid-19th century. Most often, it describes a president at the end of their term, waiting to be replaced during the next inauguration. After the presidential election on November 5, 2024, and until Donald Trump was sworn in on January 20, 2025, Joe Biden perfectly embodied the "lame duck" role. But when Barack Obama (much like George W. Bush before him) lost his congressional majority halfway through his second term (in November 2014), he also joined the ranks of lame ducks.
The first use was in 1926
This is a very dangerous period, as hostile forces can take advantage of presidential weakness to advance their agendas. Americans have not forgotten that it was between the election of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) in November 1860 and his inauguration in March 1861 that seven Southern states seceded from the Union; the outgoing president, James Buchanan (1791-1868), had refused to take a stand against the secessionists, leaving the crisis to deepen and eventually leading to the Civil War.
The first time the expression was used in the press to refer to a sitting American president was in May 1926. The Wisconsin newspaper the Appleton Post-Crescent published an article entitled "Making a lame duck of Coolidge." Six years later, the US adopted the 20th Amendment, which became known as the "lame duck amendment." It moved the presidential inauguration date from March 4 to January 20, thus shortening the period between election day and the new president taking office.
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