“I want a POTUS who can’t be baited into childish ego contests.”
With the election around the corner, many people are beginning to feel the anxiety that comes this time, every 4 years. But this year, the stakes are even higher. Americans aren’t the only ones that are nervous for the result – I spoke to 3 people, 1 from America and 2 from the UK, giving their views after looking from outside in.
Konrad Juengling:
An American LGBT and animal rights activist from Idaho, USA, gave his thoughts on the current state of America. He also expressed his concerns regarding the President’s response to COVID-19, the Presidential debates, and tensions around voting results from the swing-states.
The thing he is most worried about is that Biden could win “the popular vote and yet lose the election” due to the Electoral College. This was the case in the 2016 election, where due to the Electoral College votes, allocated to each state depending on their population – Trump won by 304-227.
“The EC is the reason Donald Trump is the President instead of Hillary Clinton.”
In terms of Trump and Biden’s characters, Konrad said: “Joe comes across as well reasoned, well spoken, and smart,” whereas “Trump comes across as brash and a bully.” Ever since Trump won the Presidency and especially in the pandemic of this year, he [Trump] “doesn’t allow others to get a word in edgewise and shows contempt for those around him.”
When asked about the swing states of Texas and Pennsylvania, he stated that “people are sick of divisiveness, rampant unemployment, coronavirus, and blatant cronyism.”
The UK’s perception of the 2020 election:
First, I spoke with Harrison from Dorset, who highlighted the threat of violent protests from supporters of the losing side; a fear shared by many. This comes after President Trump has failed to state that he will accept the result of the election, if Biden succeeds.
In terms of Trump’s COVID-19 response – I couldn’t have put it better:
“Well, it’s pretty much a disaster.”
Additionally, Harrison stated that Trump’s communication has been “borderline dangerous from a UK standpoint.”
Next, I spoke to Calum, based in London, who revealed that the the doubt and speculation that has been pinned to the election “has been deeply depressing.”
“I didn’t quite think that I would live through a time where democracy was treated with such speculation as it is now.”
Addressing the somewhat anticlimactic first Presidential debate, he described it as “like two old men shouting at each other about cloud.”
We also discussed the influence that Kamala Harris has had over this election, as Biden’s running mate. Calum stated: “Kamala is well-established in her right… overall she’s progressive.”
Calum also showed concerns for Trump’s handling of the virus: “It’s never a great look to be anti-science in the midst of a global pandemic.” It is interesting to note the inconsistency of Trump’s COVID-19 strategy, given his suspension in March of all travel from Europe to the United States for 30 days. Calum, alongside thousands others, hopes that mistakes made by the current President in his actions against the virus will be a determining factor in voting results.
“You can only hope that for many… this is the finally straw and when they come to vote – they’ll do so with the last 3-5 months in mind.”
Final Thoughts and Predictions:
Lastly, I asked all of these speakers to give their final thoughts on who they think will win.
Konrad – “I am 75% confident Biden will take the presidency, and if Democrats can take the Senate and House as well, that would be wonderful!”
Harrison – “If I was to stick my neck out I’ll say Biden will win, with 335 EC votes – with Texas and Georgia very nearly flipping for Biden.”
Calum – “I would be surprised it Texas turns blue… if it does Trump should start packing his bags”.
Thank you to Konrad, Harrison and Calum for their thoughts.
Annaleece Longmore
Feature image courtesy of Elemental5 Digital on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Annaleece Longmore
Annaleece is an 19 year-old student journalist in her second year at the University of Sheffield, studying Journalism Studies. You can find her on Twitter at @JournoAnnaleece.