Για το κείμενο στα Ελληνικά πατήστε ΕΔΩ
The electional “thriller” of these last days in the United States ended yesterday afternoon when Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence was written in, announced final results and 77-year-old Joe Biden was declared the winner of the elections and the 46th President of the United States of America. Biden’s victory makes him the oldest person to hold the top job in America, deprives an acting President of a second term for the fifth time in U.S. History and puts the first colored Vice President (Kamala Harris) in US history. But how did the “Democrat” from Delaware reach this difficult victory?
Corona-Virus Outbreak:
The U.S. have been one of the most affected countries in the world, with over ten million cases and 240.000 deaths. These numbers and the fact that President Trump underestimated this situation (leading in his alleged contamination) led an important number of voters, who had supported him in the previous election, to turn their backs on him (more obviously in States greatly affected by the outbreak, such us Wisconsin and Michigan).
Vote by mail:
The U.S. electoral system allows for mail in votes to be tallied, which allows the entirety of the population quick and easy access to voting. In conjunction with the outbreak, the mail in votes allowd voters to easily and safely participate in the elections. This could, in theory, benefit both candidates, but since most of President Trump’s supporters are denying the existence or severity of the virus and most of the U.S. citizens wanting an end to this pandemic, mail in votes gave a distinct and significant advantage to President Elect Joe Biden (mail in vote was the key factor in overturning a 700.000 votes lead in Pensylvania and was instrumental in his victory).
Donald Trump:
Believe it or not, the President himself was the main reason the Democrats won. With close to no political rhetoric (being no politician himself after all), aggresive racist views and a show of indifference for many important community issues, President Trump not only failed to “Make America Great Again” (his motto for the 2016 election), but managed to remove the United States from the World Community. The diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Europe and other countries around the Globe reached an all-time low, leading to the vanishing of the projection of U.S. Power around the world (one of the basic reasons Turkey is acting the way they have). During the outbreak of the Pandemic, President Trump shines with indifference and verbally attacked China, instead of heeding advice and working towards safeguarding against the Pandemic. All the above have co-signed his eviction papers, even though he still has not admitted to his defeat.
I would like to share a thought concerning the next day of the United States. Will Biden be a better President than Trump? I cannot say with any level of certainty, however, with Biden having been Vice-President, a person who knows the game and data, he can definitely be an asset to his country and increase the influence of the United States abroad. The down side is that he does not have a lot of time, since I believe he only has one term in the White House, due to his age.
There is only one thing left to see. What does this mean for Greece, now that the United States have a President and not an Administrator/Businessman on the wheel.
George Vallas, Vice-President of the Local Municipality Council of Argyroupolis
