The coronavirus pandemic makes this year's elections in the US unique in its history. It eclipses the election campaigns of both the Republican and the Democratic Parties. It is understandable because the pandemic now poses a serious threat to the lives of Americans and to the future of the US. The pandemic put the election campaigns of two presidential candidates of the Democratic Party, former Vice-president Joe Biden and Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders, on the back burner. They shifted to campaigning online but the resonance is very limited. The pandemic puts both of them aside and hinders them from continuing to be the headlines. The Democratic presidential Convention has been postponed to mid-August, thus giving more time advantages to their political opponent, US President Donald Trump.
| American voters will go to ballots on November 3. |
The pandemic gives now Donald Trump an unexpected opportunity to cement his chance to be re-elected as US president in the coming November election. Through dealing with the pandemic, he could prove himself as strong and capable leader to US voters. He holds now the chance to convince them that he could deserve their votes. In the time of the pandemic, people usually seek state protection and expect concrete, strong and proper decisions and actions from the nation's head. The chance, consequently, is now there for Donald Trump exclusively and not for Joe Biden, who has become the presumptive Democratic candidate. What the voters want are stopping the spread of the pandemic, restoring the normality of their daily life, growth of the country's economy and downing the unemployment rate - and all these must be achieved before the election day.
That is just the dilemma now of Donald Trump. He initially underestimated and trivialized the pandemic. He started too late to act. His actions sounded very strong but didn't result in success. Until now he couldn’t get the pandemic under control. The nation's economic growth falls and the unemployment rate increases. Americans suffer more and more. His management of this crisis is until now far and away from being considered as promising.
He still has time but his time is running out. The irony is that the pandemic gives him a chance to ensure his re-election, maybe easily and certainly, but at the same time threatens to destroy his ambition more than any candidate from the Democratic Party could do.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Ambassador Tran Duc Mau are of his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hanoitimes.
