COVID-19 Crisis Is Deciding Factor for Trump Reelection
Published in Volkskrant
(Netherlands) on 9 April 2020
by Bert Lanting (link to original)
Now that Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the race for the White House, the path is clear for Joe Biden.
Joe Biden can finally singularly focus on the general election battle with President Trump now that his progressive rival Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic nomination. But it will be a daunting task to eject the Republican president from the White House.
For a long time, it seemed like Sanders was determined to continue the fight to the end, as he did in the 2016 primaries, despite the fact that he was lagging behind Biden. In 2016, he went on for so long that Hillary Clinton, the candidate favored by the Democratic party establishment, surfaced from that battle severely debilitated. Some of Sanders' young progressive supporters subsequently did not turn out for the election, resulting in Trump narrowly winning the White House.
To prevent a repeat of that fiasco, Biden must now win over Sanders' supporters. Not an easy task, because he also needs to appeal to moderate voters to cut Trump off at the pass.
Biden's biggest problem, however, is that he has no stage — all campaign rallies have been canceled. While Biden has to make do with the occasional video message from his study, President Trump brazenly uses the White House's daily COVID-19 press conferences to campaign.
Normally, Americans rally behind their president in times of crisis, but that seems to be less the case this time. Lately, Trump has even declined slightly in the polls.
Trump likes to belittle his opponents with insulting nicknames, such as "Sloppy Joe" Biden, but now he faces an opponent he can't just laugh at: COVID-19.
Trump had hoped to defeat his Democratic opponent by referencing the spectacular economic growth under his presidency, but none of that remains (through no fault of his own). The only question left now is how he dealt with the COVID-19 crisis. This election is not between Trump and Biden, but between Trump and COVID-19.
Joe Biden can finally singularly focus on the general election battle with President Trump now that his progressive rival Bernie Sanders has withdrawn from the race for the Democratic nomination. But it will be a daunting task to eject the Republican president from the White House.
For a long time, it seemed like Sanders was determined to continue the fight to the end, as he did in the 2016 primaries, despite the fact that he was lagging behind Biden. In 2016, he went on for so long that Hillary Clinton, the candidate favored by the Democratic party establishment, surfaced from that battle severely debilitated. Some of Sanders' young progressive supporters subsequently did not turn out for the election, resulting in Trump narrowly winning the White House.
To prevent a repeat of that fiasco, Biden must now win over Sanders' supporters. Not an easy task, because he also needs to appeal to moderate voters to cut Trump off at the pass.
Biden's biggest problem, however, is that he has no stage — all campaign rallies have been canceled. While Biden has to make do with the occasional video message from his study, President Trump brazenly uses the White House's daily COVID-19 press conferences to campaign.
Normally, Americans rally behind their president in times of crisis, but that seems to be less the case this time. Lately, Trump has even declined slightly in the polls.
Trump likes to belittle his opponents with insulting nicknames, such as "Sloppy Joe" Biden, but now he faces an opponent he can't just laugh at: COVID-19.
Trump had hoped to defeat his Democratic opponent by referencing the spectacular economic growth under his presidency, but none of that remains (through no fault of his own). The only question left now is how he dealt with the COVID-19 crisis. This election is not between Trump and Biden, but between Trump and COVID-19.
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