The stakes for former US president Donald Trump in the upcoming election couldn’t be higher, according to an expert.

The US is on the cusp of going to the polls to decide their next president, bringing to an end a chaotic and frantic lead in between former candidates Trump and Kamala Harris.

US Studies Centre Honorary Associate John Barron unpacked just how important this year’s election is for Trump in particular.

Click PLAY to hear Shane McInnes’ thoughts on the election + the FULL interview with John Barron

“This isn’t about who just becomes President,” he said on 3AW Drive.

“It becomes whether former President Trump lands up spending a substantial portion of the rest of his life either in power or in jail.”

Shane McInnes said regardless of result, the butter divisiveness nature of the lead up to the election will still remain in the US.

“Whenever a president-elect is named, America will remain as divided and fractured as ever,” he said on 3AW.