Over the last few weeks, I’ve wrestled with the question of who should be the person to lead America for the next four years. I know the answer may seem obvious but I personally believe that there are very serious political consequences for both candidates whether it’s Biden or Trump. The conclusion I’ve come to is:
Trump was the right president for 2016. Biden is the right president for 2020.
When I say the right president I don’t mean perfect or ideal. I think both candidates are deeply flawed in their own ways, and the fact that the best people we could come up with are two mid-seventy-year-olds is kind of depressing.
There are those who disagree Trump was the right choice for 2016, which I understand. I’ll quickly outline why I believe that to be true.
The best case I can make for Trump 2016 was that we needed a pause on globalism. In such a short period of time (roughly since the 1980s) the world has become so interwoven and interconnected. In general, the cross-border exchange of goods, services, ideas, technology, capital, and people is a good thing.
But it’s also irreversible and not without consequence.
This opening up of all national markets has created fierce competition amongst nation-states and led to greater inequality between and within them. Yet this rapid growth of global markets has not seen the same speed of social and economic institutions to ensure balanced, inclusive, and sustainable growth.
Does Trump understand this? Yes and no. His America-first policy is a direct response to rapid globalism. You hear it when he talks about the loss of manufacturing jobs throughout the Midwest and our trade imbalance with China.
And he has a point. For example, exporting jobs to other countries has been bad for both sides. American workers lose their jobs while foreign workers are exploited for their cheap labor.
Our relationship with China also needed to be examined.
Since 1978, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping announced the Open Door Policy and its economic reforms, China has experienced double-digit growth while becoming more integrated with the US economy. However, these reforms have come to a halt recently under the Chinese Communist Party’s leader, Xi Jinping.
We now find ourselves in a trade war and a technological Cold War with China. You see the latter in the ongoing battle over the app, Tiktok.
Publicly China is happy to continue doing business with the US, mostly because we are their biggest customer. But in reality, Xi Jinping has been rolling back many of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms to protect his nation’s interest.
And I don’t blame him. Like I said before globalism has led to hyper-competition amongst every nation. This is not the time to join hands and sing economic kumbaya while blindly and naively competing in a global marketplace.
Every nation should protect its own interest.
I agree with Trump’s America First policy. I think the safety and well-being of a nation’s citizens should be its first and foremost priority. This means protecting our workers and industries and staying out of pointless wars.
Ironically Covid swept in and dealt its own blow to globalism. Nations quickly issued travel bans and restrictions to protect their own people. Governments are largely focused on containing the virus and recovering their economies. The tide has turned from globalism to nationalism.
The issue is that in the United States there is a very thin line between nationalism and white nationalism. Much of Trump’s rhetoric comes across as racist or xenophobic. I personally do not believe he is racist but pro-America can easily come across as pro-white. It’s very much a case of good message, bad messenger.
For now, I think he has largely gotten that message across, but now I worry that should he stay in office it would only further embolden the fringe groups you see coming from the right and left such as ANTIFA, the Proud Boys, etc.
We cannot get through the next four years divided
Covid has dealt some serious structural damage to America. High unemployment, an education system shaken, our health care system struggling, businesses closing down. I just don’t have the confidence that a Trump president and Republican senate can put partisanship aside and do what’s best for all Americans.
Trump is at best a polarizing figure, and at worst a divisive one who only sees himself as a leader for those who voted for him. The last few weeks especially have been very much “us vs them.” On the other hand, Biden has repeatedly said, “I’ll be a president for All Americans.”
I think that’s the type of leadership we’ll need to not just get through Covid but to fully recover.
The next few years should be focused on healing America
With Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court, there’s a real chance the Affordable Care Act could be repealed leaving millions of Americans uninsured in the middle of a pandemic. Whatever your thoughts on the ACA, this is not time to time to get rid of it.
Over the last four years, Trump has repeatedly promised to repeal and replace Obamacare but hasn’t shared any details of what a replacement would look like. At this point, I don’t think a real comprehensive healthcare plan exists.
I do believe that in the richest nation in the world every citizen should have access to quality healthcare, especially during a pandemic.
Where do we go from here?
A Trump 2020 re-election would mostly be a continuation of the same: a pro-capitalist, pro-industrial presidency. And if Covid hadn’t happened then that would have been fine.
But Covid has highlighted the need for real progressive reform in healthcare, education, worker rights, climate, and racial equality.
I don’t just want America to endure Covid; I want us to overcome it and not leave any Americans behind. I want America to live up to its full potential. I want America to progress.
And I believe we have the best shot at that with a Joe Biden Presidency.
Thanks for reading.
