Will it be Trump or Biden?

By Tuesday night, the world will know who will be the 46th President of the US, 74-year-old incumbent Donald Trump or 77-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden.

The media-driven battle across the US has been fierce, noisy, typically divisive with name-calling (clownish Trump vs sleepy Joe), some referenced issues like opening up business, covid19, immigration, Biden’s socialism, Trump’s tax files, Biden’s son's “illicit deals” and more “recently fracking for oil."

With the maskless Trump’s upbeat-crowd crusades in Miami and Mid-West marginal states against Biden’s lower-profile appearances, political anxieties have grown so much that over 70 million people (out of an expected 150 million) have already voted by mail and in person.

Following intense nation-wide Black Lives Matter marches, street protests with collateral looting and violence occurred last week in Philadelphia over police shooting a black man.

Biden calls for social justice and police reform especially over use of force. The Twitter-driven Trump calls for law and order, strengthening the police force and no tolerance for street violence.

A frightening development also occurred last week when many well-armed people, describing themselves as “a militia” formed to help keep the elections “peaceful,” and in case it turns to be a “black and white thing.”

Last Wednesday, Trump warned his Arizona Make America Great Again crowd of Venezuela’s dictatorship. With our “sovereign nation” stance over the US-Venezuela dispute, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s hurried visits to Guyana and Suriname and his instructive meeting with selected Caricom leaders (TT excluded), new Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Amery Browne will have to ensure that impending events do not marginalise this country and its energy and trade interests. Dr Browne must rejuvenate our foreign relations and inspire local interest in it.

With continued cracks within Caricom, Guyana and Jamaica are strategically pro-US. Having expressed its ultimatum last year, Jamaica may break from Caricom, turning further northwards.

Will a Biden government be different towards Venezuela? Biden has not made any declaration, while Trump brands him a “socialist, a communist.” In all this, Dr Browne does have the temperament and “quick-to-learn” disposition to utilise diplomatic channels to keep this country in a respected position without loss of economic or diplomatic advantage. His task may be easier if Biden wins.

This US election helps illustrate how a healthy multi-party democracy works. Every candidate, from top to bottom, must work hard in the field, begging and promising at the feet of the voters. Voters then judge credibility, hypocrisy and the records. Their faith in voting keeps democracy alive. It’s like having faith in Santa Claus to keep the Christmas industry alive.

A little picong passed between. Defending his post-covid appearances, Trump told his Miami crowd: “I have to meet people, do things, not lock up in my bedroom upstairs, not hide in the basement like ‘sleepy Joe.’”

The mass media (including social media) have come in for scrutiny over reporting bias. In the midst of “free press in danger” cries, the Wall Street Journal charged newspapers last week for slanting the news to “support and protect” Biden. It declared: “Media watchdogs are not supposed to guard Joe Biden.”

Trump has long branded CNN, MSNBC and a number of newspapers as delivering “fake news” and giving him a bad deal. Fox News, however, remains without apology strongly pro-Trump.

All this raises the question over a free press and the extent to which it is entitled or not to take a side if it wishes. Should the fairness principle, ownership preference or the market decide?

Last Wednesday, the CEOs of Google, Facebook and Twitter were summoned to answer allegations before the US Senate. One senator, Ted Cruz, savagely asked Twitter's CEO: “Who the hell elected you?”

The unevenness between the popular votes and the US electoral college (538 delegates) allows for uncertainty in prediction.

In 2016, Trump won 304 electoral college delegates over the Democratic Hilary Clinton’s 227, even though Clinton got almost three million votes more. In 2012, Barack Obama got 332 electoral college votes over Mitt Romney’s 206, with the popular vote being 51 per cent Obama vs 47 per cent Romney.

Many polls put Biden narrowly ahead of Trump, However, Trump’s upbeat crowds and adrenaline-driven speeches leave open the showdown question: will it be Trump or Biden?