Big changes in the US election – these things matter now

Donald Trump drew a lot of criticism for his remarks at the Union of Black Journalists conference. ZumaWire/MVPHOTOS

American politics has long been extremely divided, but experts say Donald Trump and Terrible Harris In elections that come from time to time, identity issues may come to the fore.

Trump causes uproar by questioning Harris’s ethnicity. PhD at the University of Turku Oscar Weinberg When Democrats are the nominee, race will play out differently Joe Biden Instead of African American and Asian American Kamala Harris.

– Whether the candidate is Biden or Harris, the policies offered by the Democratic Party are almost the same, but naturally, especially the issue of race appears differently, as Trump and the Republicans attack Harris from a rather racist angle.

You might think presidential candidates wouldn’t have a racial background Barack Obama Two seasons later it no longer matters. According to Weinberg, questions about race become muddled when Harris also treats her gender.

– There is an English term Misogynywhich is intended to portray hatred against black women. For example, Trump’s remarks that Harris’ decision to change her racial background is obviously a racial issue, but Trump also said that Harris does not look like the president, which means that gender has also been present in the attack.

Weinberg said he was surprised at how clumsy Republicans were in raising the issue of race. Has been criticized The emergence of Trump.

– I don’t think there are as many victories as defeats from these attacks. The people who are excited about Trump’s attacks are already on his side, which is not necessarily the best strategy for winning new voters.

Each party promotes its own advantages

Weinberg reminds us that for the vast majority of voters, the party is a more important factor than the candidate. Therefore, the main task of the campaign is to get its voters to act, so the headlines should include themes that can best mobilize its voters.

Republicans have made the difficult immigration situation at the southern U.S. border a viable campaign theme. Weinberg said the situation has been difficult for so long that it has been impossible for Congress to compromise across party lines. This spring, the promising border law died as Trump called on Republicans to overturn it.

– Trump is tough on immigration, even though he lies and uses quite openly xenophobic rhetoric. That’s why he wants to maintain the crisis situation at the border in order to exploit it in the elections. Trump knows that immigration is an issue that dominates the headlines and wins votes. However, it is worth remembering that, apart from building a wall and mass deportations, he also does not have very concrete solutions for this crisis.

Joe Biden’s campaign was largely devoted to portraying Trump as a threat to democracy. With Trump’s assassination attempt, the rhetoric had to be softened, at least for a while, but after Biden left office, abortion rights have emerged more strongly in the Democratic race because of its strong support among voters.

– The issue of abortion has always been an uncomfortable one for Biden, who is Catholic. As president, he supported abortion rights, but as a senator, he was also long opposed. The fact that Harris is more strongly in favor of abortion and has been able to raise the issue of abortion in her campaign is why abortion has become the top issue in the election more strongly.

Economy

People often think that the US election is related to the current economic situation, which sums it up well Bill Clinton’s Campaign Strategist James Cavlen As the legendary saying goes, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Indeed, Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. economy is in the best shape ever during his term, and high inflation was used as a punching weapon against him, especially early in Biden’s term. However, there is no clear consensus on whether Biden’s economic policies have been successful.

– The challenge is that it is impossible to have a financial discussion when both parties seem to be living in different realities. Perhaps this whole discussion speaks to the fact that politicians and the media fail to talk about these issues, because there are still many views about the economy that are not correct. That is why I don’t think there will be such strong growth in the economy in this campaign.

As one of the factors behind the narrowing of campaign themes, Weinberg highlighted the nationalization of American politics, where instead of discussing issues at the local and state levels, localities are increasingly talking about the same issues.

– Large national media grew faster, and through social media you could see what was being talked about elsewhere. Today, there is no similar opportunity to run a campaign where you can talk to different voters in different states about different issues, even if you know what the good topics are in each place.

– Of course, the focus of the speech depends on where you are, but the campaign themes are clearly defined at the national level.