US Elections 2020

As a patriotic citizen of the US, I send prayers to President Trump and first lady Melania Trump who have been tested positive for Covid-19. More than 200,000 lives so far have been lost to this disease in the US alone. The lives lost to Covid-19 could have been avoided mostly just by wearing a mask. However, the president downplayed the virus and refused to wear a mask. Instead, the virus became a partisan issue; if you are a Democrat, you wear a mask and if you are a Republican you do not. The fact is that today, 26 million Americans do not have jobs and one out of every six businesses has been affected by the virus. Asians business owners are disproportionately affected by Covid-19 and this news will have a destabilising effect on the morale and the health of the nation. Experts suggest that the news about Trump’s illness will impact the elections which are only a month away. But, how it impacts the elections will depend on the severity of the president’s illness. One thing is for sure, it will distract people from what is important and may even impact voter turnout. Covid-19 will be at the top of the electoral agenda of voters and that is going to be bad news for President Trump. A more immediate effect of this news will be that President Trump will have to cancel all his campaign rallies and will likely not be able to appear in the next debate with Joe Biden.

Back in 2016, when Hillary Clinton contracted pneumonia, President Trump called her ‘weak.’ Trump’s illness will reshape the elections. If the president’s condition gets worse, he can invoke the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution and transfer power to Vice President Mike Pence, provided he doesn’t become a victim of Covid-19. Nonetheless, Americans will need to unite to end the politics of divisiveness and misinformation, and do what’s right for America; vote and save the integrity of the American democracy.

Anila Ali

California

USA