The country has experienced a rocky start to the year with the pandemic and is currently dealing with massive protests and riots regarding racial inequality. These two events are among several other factors that will influence the presidential election of 2020.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
When COVID-19 was officially confirmed to have reached the U.S in January, the virus gradually began taking a toll on the country. President Trump then implemented social restrictions in March and people’s daily routine became disrupted as the new norm of daily life emerged. Social distancing is being practiced nationwide. As a result businesses across the nation closed temporarily, while others permanently closed, and schools transferred to an online system. As the virus started spreading the economy began to dwindle. Many companies and businesses hit a financial crisis. Therefore, the loss of revenue has led to the furlough and reduced hours of employees. According to The Daily Wire, the employment rate in the U.S dropped 13.3% for the month of May. In addition, the stock market has fallen, oil prices have crashed, and traveling has significantly decreased since travel bans have been placed globally.
However, after several months of practicing social distancing many states are now reopening under the direction of President Trump. The CDC is also providing guidelines on how to safely do so. The race for a vaccine continues and there is pending hope that a vaccine might be developed and ready to be distributed to the public by the end of this year.
The Black Lives Matter Movement
On March 25th, the death of an unarmed black man named George Floyd sparked the nation in an outrage. A police officer was taking him into custody and eventually kneeled on his neck to detain him, but Floyd stopped breathing. Hundreds and thousands of individuals are now protesting for him, equality, and against police brutality. The Black Lives Matter movement has resurfaced since 2014. States like Minnesota, California, New York, and Pennsylvania are currently grasping the media’s attention as protests are becoming violent and resulting in riots. Many states are now implementing curfews to attempt to maintain civilians safe and prevent riots from reoccurring. Since March 25th, CNBC reported that there have been over 100 protests, rallies, and vigils, and hundreds of protesters have been arrested.
The Presidential Election of 2020
The presidential election will be proceeding in the fall, but how will these external factors play a role in voting? Currently, the presidential nominees are not able to campaign as before due to the risk of contracting the virus when meeting hundreds of people. There is also still uncertainty regarding how voting will be conducted. The effects of the virus are already being witnessed as the primaries are resulting in challenges for those overseas to vote or even cancelled party fund-raisers. Furthermore, how the president has responded to the pandemic is up for debate while some praise him and others critique him. Former President Obama publicly criticized Trump’s administration while participating in virtual graduation speeches for high school students. He expressed how Trump’s administration has been mishandling the pandemic. On the other hand, as Trump encourages governors and states to reopen during the pandemic, he received support from protesters demanding that the economy open again.
Moreover, the Black Lives Matter movement is influencing the presidential candidates and how they will respond to racial inequality. President Trump recently mentioned how he is an ally of peaceful protesters and explained how George Floyd’s death is tragic. Joe Biden visited a Black Lives Matter Protests site where he delivered a speech in support of the movement. According to the Politician Compare, the poll ranking of Trump and Biden display a gap. Biden is leading with a poll ranking of 47% compared to Trump who is at 44%. Only time will tell how the pandemic and the movement will affect the presidential election this year.