2020 US Elections-What is at Stake?
The 2020 United States presidential election is today November 3rd, 2020 and the campaigning by the two contending candidates has been nothing less of drama filled, especially from the camp of the incumbent, President Donald Trump. This contest between incumbent president Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden, will go down as a historic one in US history for many undignified reasons.
There were many issues in which the candidates campaigned for or against and it has evolved into a contest between good and evil. Among the issues that rose to the fore during the campaign were the current race relations in the US, the mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic, downturn in the economy, and the blatant attempt by Mr. Trump and his cronies to subvert the American democratic system.
With no qualms, President Trump has repeatedly told the world about how he feels about other races-from trying to institute draconian laws against immigrants, to calling some countries shithole countries-and he continues to display his insensibility and lack of leadership during the Black Live Matter protests. Through Mr. Trump’s antecedents, he has emboldened the racist who were otherwise lowkey before his presidency.
The Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped our world today and has resulted in over 200, 000 deaths alone in the United States. As president, Mr. Trump had solid information and ample time to prepare Americans for the pandemic, but instead he chose to downplay the pandemic and, in some cases, claimed that the virus was a hoax. It was unbelievable to watch as the president clashed with his medical experts on social media and himself flouted the rules that were put in place by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) to mitigate the virus’ effects.
While Mr. Trump has continued to claim himself a leader, his response to the pandemic has been devastating to the economy. According to statistics by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis, the US real gross domestic product (GDP) has decreased at an annual rate of 31.4% with an unemployment rate of 7.9%. The closure of businesses and the ensuing unemployment across the country is evidence of the Covid-19 pandemic’s direct effect on the US economy.
What Mr. Trump has chosen to do is to politicize every issue to the detriment of the integrity of the United States. This is even more evident in his bid to subvert a democratic process that has been around for over 400 years because of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Mr. Trump in his attempt to continue his presidency, tried to dismantle the United States Postal Service to make the mail in ballots unachievable and ineffective. But thanks to a strong constitution and independent minded agencies, Trump could not fulfill his selfish desires.
Mr. Trump is desperate, and his desperation is evident in his unfounded campaign speeches he is making to his supporters. What is shocking is his supporters and how they continue to support this despot. He does not even regard his supporters as evident in his speech to his supporters in Erie, Pennsylvania.
What is at stake in this election year is the integrity of the United States as a democratic nation and leader of the free world. Our hope is that the voters see this and good prevails for the American people as they take this historic step to take the country out of divisiveness and hatred.
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