While Democratic challenger Biden is picking up in the polls, ruling out Trump is a mistake that few should make

When Donald Trump won the 2016 US  presidential poll, he didn’t just shake up the American polity but visibly the entire world. As political commentators in India and elsewhere tried to figure out the nuances of the US’ bizarre electoral college system and how the winner of the popular vote actually lost an election, the world prepared for Trump. It has been a roller coaster ride since January 2017 when Trump took office. From his market-moving Twitter tirades to the many self-aggrandising press briefings, Trump has said a lot of things to a lot of people.

But as the US heads into the next presidential election cycle later this year, can Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden, who was also former President Barack Obama’s Vice President, defeat Trump? Biden has maintained low profile during the Coronavirus pandemic. Even during the racial protests that engulfed certain American cities, he maintained studied silence, possibly in order to avoid his legendary gaffes. This is in sharp contrast to Trump’s bombastic statements. By all accounts, Biden is leading Trump in the polls across several important American “battleground” States where the 2020 election will be won and lost. The average of national surveys has put Biden up over Trump. However, this discounts the latter’s extremely good ground game; last time his team knew they had an upper hand even before the election. This is why they allowed the mainstream media to portray him as weak, which doubled the surprise of his victory. It has been 28 years since an incumbent US President lost re-election. Putting Trump on the backfoot might actually spur him to revitalise his base. The riots now, with their senseless and wanton destruction, will actually play into Trump’s core support base of White voters. Trump likes playing the insurgent card when it comes to electioneering. And with the media and analysts sitting in their ivory towers in America’s coastal cities, they forget how electorally important this base is. For Biden to ensure victory, he will have to reach out to Trump’s core voter base. While he has the polling lead for now, he has not started that outreach. Keep in mind that as the first votes were counted on that fateful November night in 2016, Hillary Clinton had a 96 per cent chance of being the US’ 45th President.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)

While Democratic challenger Biden is picking up in the polls, ruling out Trump is a mistake that few should make

When Donald Trump won the 2016 US  presidential poll, he didn’t just shake up the American polity but visibly the entire world. As political commentators in India and elsewhere tried to figure out the nuances of the US’ bizarre electoral college system and how the winner of the popular vote actually lost an election, the world prepared for Trump. It has been a roller coaster ride since January 2017 when Trump took office. From his market-moving Twitter tirades to the many self-aggrandising press briefings, Trump has said a lot of things to a lot of people.

But as the US heads into the next presidential election cycle later this year, can Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden, who was also former President Barack Obama’s Vice President, defeat Trump? Biden has maintained low profile during the Coronavirus pandemic. Even during the racial protests that engulfed certain American cities, he maintained studied silence, possibly in order to avoid his legendary gaffes. This is in sharp contrast to Trump’s bombastic statements. By all accounts, Biden is leading Trump in the polls across several important American “battleground” States where the 2020 election will be won and lost. The average of national surveys has put Biden up over Trump. However, this discounts the latter’s extremely good ground game; last time his team knew they had an upper hand even before the election. This is why they allowed the mainstream media to portray him as weak, which doubled the surprise of his victory. It has been 28 years since an incumbent US President lost re-election. Putting Trump on the backfoot might actually spur him to revitalise his base. The riots now, with their senseless and wanton destruction, will actually play into Trump’s core support base of White voters. Trump likes playing the insurgent card when it comes to electioneering. And with the media and analysts sitting in their ivory towers in America’s coastal cities, they forget how electorally important this base is. For Biden to ensure victory, he will have to reach out to Trump’s core voter base. While he has the polling lead for now, he has not started that outreach. Keep in mind that as the first votes were counted on that fateful November night in 2016, Hillary Clinton had a 96 per cent chance of being the US’ 45th President.

(Courtesy: The Pioneer)