Campaign methods and key issues in the U.S. presidential election scheduled for November have significantly changed as a result of the spread of novel coronavirus infections. Debates on the importance of international cooperation and health care are likely to be heated.
Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is certain to win the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, paving the way for his challenge to Republican President Donald Trump.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, primaries and caucuses scheduled in each state have been postponed one after another since late March, making it difficult to hold large-scale supporter rallies. The Democratic convention, at which Biden will formally be nominated as the party's presidential candidate, has also been postponed from July to August.
For the time being, it is difficult for candidates and campaign staff to develop grassroots movements through rallies and door-to-door canvassing. To what extent will they be able to enhance their communication abilities and convey their message via online campaigns alone? This is the huge wall Biden is facing.
Trump has been taking advantage of his position as the incumbent to raise his presence by announcing antivirus measures on a daily basis. He may be anticipating a rise in approval ratings if he can overcome the crisis as a "wartime president."
The new coronavirus has once again highlighted changes in U.S. politics and diplomacy that Trump has brought about.
Ordinarily, the United States would have exercised leadership, coordinating a system under which each nation would have cooperated. Trump, however, has made clear his stance of confronting China, where the virus first spread. He has also criticized the World Health Organization for being "China-centric."
It is true that there have been problems with the way China and the WHO have dealt with the issue, but in the face of a global crisis, this is not the time to argue.
Centrist Biden has emphasized his achievements as vice president under the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama and called for a return to the previous administration's stance on international cooperation. Biden's moderate view, critical of the "America First" policy, was what made Democratic supporters regard him as the candidate who can defeat Trump.
However, it cannot be denied that China's aggressive maritime expansion under the previous U.S. administration diminished the U.S. presence. Thus, Biden will have to rethink the foreign policies of the Obama administration.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a radical leftist who challenged Biden, created a wave of support among young people by advocating the need to correct inequality and introduce a universal health care system. His proposals are gaining weight as the pandemic becomes more serious.
In the United States, it has been pointed out that the death rate from infections is high particularly among black and Hispanic citizens in low-income jobs. This should serve as an opportunity to review social welfare policies, which the Trump administration has a tendency to downplay.
-- The original Japanese article appeared in The Yomiuri Shimbun on April 12, 2020.
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