The Corona Virus Pandemic and the 2020 Presidential Campaign in the United States

The Corona Virus Pandemic and the 2020 Presidential Campaign in the United States

While many people could primarily view the corona-virus pandemic as an economical and social threat, the perception of the Republicans, represented by President Donald Trump, and the Democrats, represented by Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, are a bit different especially with the election coming in November. According to the New York Times, the pandemic has significantly changed the 2020 campaign, with each group trying its best to reap the highest share of the voters. The pandemic has posed a real-time test to the three presidential candidates. Most of the citizens are examining their ability to express leadership amidst such a life-threatening global crisis.

Whereas most Republicans feel that Trump’s administration is doing its best to combat the pandemic, the democrats have, once and again, criticized the approach that the ruling party has adopted over the crisis. The Democrats, through their prospective candidate Joe Biden, have blamed the president for failing to put in place measures that would resurrect the economy in case the pandemic plunged the country into a financial crisis. Joe claims that the president is spending much of his time on propaganda instead of being realistic about the implications of the pandemic on the people of the United States.

Ideally, this critical situation could pose a significant threat to the re-election bid of President Donald Trump. The spread of the virus could shape up as a test to Trump’s core pitch to voters. The democrats would as well feel the effect of the pandemic if at all, they proceed with little regard to its impacts. The decision by the president to ban congregations and political rallies could deny them the chance to reach out to the voters in good time hence giving the republican candidate an upper hand. It is, therefore, important for both parties to use social science research to evaluate the views of the voters about how the issue is being handled to be better informed about what to tell them. Reliable information about the pandemic can be obtained from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

References

Brownstein, R. (2020). Red and Blue America Aren’t Experiencing the Same Pandemic: The disconnect is already shaping, even distorting, the nation’s response. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/03/how-republicans-and-democrats-think-about-coronavirus/608395/

Lerer, L. & Epstein, R. J (2020). How the corona-virus changed the 2020 campaign. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/12/us/politics/coronavirus-2020-campaign.html