Will these 5 issues decide the winner of the US election? Biden and Trump have different solutions

Photo: Tanjug/AP, Pixabay

It is increasingly more certain that in November we will see another election contest between Republican Donald Trump and current US President and Democrat Joe Biden.

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Although their official candidacies have not yet been announced, the two are gearing up to campaign for an election which many are calling the most important and uncertain in the last 20 years.

This year, a quarter of the world's population will have the right to go to the polls and vote. Although eight of the ten most populous countries in the world are voting this year, it is already clear that the elections in the US, because of that country's influence in the world, will attract the greatest attention around the globe.

A Telegraf portal journalist, was in the US in March as part of a project organized by FPC, where she and journalists from 19 other countries had the opportunity to talk with government representatives, members of various organizations and citizens in Nevada and Ohio about what motivates or demotivates them to support a candidate and go to the polls.

The future of the wars in Ukraine and Israel, the problem of climate change, abortion rights, immigration and rising inflation in almost all federal states are the main issues that could decide the winner in the presidential elections in November.

Future of wars in Ukraine and Israel

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as relations with NATO and the Western allies, are the biggest challenge for the US when it comes to foreign policy. Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the Biden administration has unequivocally supported the Ukrainian people with large donations not only in money, but also in military equipment and weapons.

However, Republicans are firm on this issue and are pushing to end the aid to Ukraine and for an outright end of the war. The decision to stop the aid is gaining support among voters, which could be a big problem for Biden.

As for the situation in the Middle East, it is even more chaotic for Biden. The current US president supports Israel in the fight against Hamas, but at the same time he is facing large protests from pro-Palestinian voters, among whom are young people.

Republicans do not have these problems and they are clearly pro-Israel.

Professor of political science at the University of Nevada, David Damore, believes that foreign policy does not affect too much who people vote for, but that there are exceptions.

"People outside the US pay a lot of attention to what's going on in our country, but the average person in the US doesn't know what's going on in the rest of the world. However, there was a situation in Michigan, that has a large number of Muslims living there, when many Democrats were undecided, which many interpreted as a vote of no confidence in Biden when it comes to solving the Gaza situation," said the professor.

Photo: Marija Milutinovic/Telegraf.rs

He then spoke to what kind of foreign policy Biden would pursue if he were to be re-elected.

"I think Trump would simply give up on the war in Ukraine. You would also probably see a more aggressive approach in the Middle East, especially on the front. Overall, he would probably withdraw our support for Ukraine and pursue a more aggressive policy when it comes to the conflict in Gaza. He would probably have a much more aggressive approach to many things than he did during the previous term in office," Professor Damore believes.

Climate change

Frequent hurricanes, floods, fires and extreme temperatures have become a reality for many Americans. Given that these weather problems are most often associated with climate change, it is not surprising that many in that country are interested in this problem.

Among them is Alejandro, a young man from Columbus who recently voted in the Ohio primary. He says that he is a Democrat and that the topic of climate change is very important to him.

"It's important that all people to vote, but especially for young people, since we're heavily under-represented in the voting pool. We tend to have a different opinions than the older folks, just because we have different experiences, different education...," he told Telegraf.

Photo: Marija Milutinovic/Telegraf.rs

When it comes to climate change, Donald Trump believes that human activity does not affect this problem, and that extreme weather conditions are not a consequence of climate change.

"If Trump were to come to power, I think the US would withdraw from some issues related to climate change and global warming," Professor Damore believes.

On the other hand, Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are very assertive when it comes to climate change. The fact is that his administration has done more than any before it when it comes to this global problem.

Abortion

Biden's message to Trump three weeks ago was that the right to abortion will be one of the key topics in the election campaign, when he called Republican efforts to restrict access to abortion an "attack on freedom."

Trump later spoke again about this, saying that banning abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy seems reasonable to him, but that he would definitely support exceptions to that ban, such as for rape and incest victims, or when a woman's life is at risk.

How important the issue of abortion is to Biden and Democrats in his campaigns is evident by the fact that he also mentioned this problem during his speech to Congress on March 8.

"The overturning of the Roe v. Wade ruling really united Democrats. It didn't just happen in Republican-majority states like Kansas or mixed ones like Ohio. In Nevada, for example, pro-abortion groups are trying to push this initiative. If that happens, there could be a mobilization of Democrats and independent voters who are not too happy about Joe Biden's election," said Professor Damore.

The issue of abortion and protection of reproductive rights is also very important minorities living in that country. This problem is a very sensitive topic among women from lower classes, who live in those states where abortion is prohibited.

Jaime Miracle, deputy director of Pro-Choice Ohio, says that these women are forced to take days off work and travel to another state in order to comply with this requirement. It represents a big financial burden, so it's no wonder why this issue is so important to them.

Photo: Marija Milutinovic/Telegraf.rs

Immigration

Illegal immigration is one of the most important issues before this year's presidential elections in the US. A recent survey done by the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard showed that immigration is a very important topic for voters in the US, with as much as a third considering it more important than the economy, crime and health care.

Democrats and Republicans have very different views on immigration to the US.

Trump is fully opposed to and is in favor of deporting people who arrive from other countries. In his statements, he often refers to immigrants by derogatory names and equates them with criminals.

"Prisoners, murderers, drug dealers, the mentally ill, terrorists are coming here, the worst are coming to us from different countries. They are coming from Congo, Yemen, Somalia, Syria, from all over the world. They are coming, changing our country, threatening it, destroying it," Trump said.

It is precisely because of this attitude that many national minorities in Nevada, especially Latinos, do not support Trump.

On the other hand, President Biden has a completely different stance regarding immigrants in the US.

He says that immigrants contribute to the American economy and are not the "dangerous animals" that his opponent calls them.

Although they endorsed Biden in previous elections, Andrea Masnata from the organization Make the Road Nevada said that they will not do so in this one because he and his administration did not meet their expectations.

Photo: Marija Milutinovic/Telegraf.rs

However, a representative of the Coolinary Union trade union in Las Vegas, which is mostly made up of people of Latin American origin, says that she fully supports Biden precisely because of his stance towards immigrants and their labor rights.

The issue of immigration is particularly relevant in those states that are close to the border, such as Texas, Arizona, Montana, Minnesota and New Mexico.

Inflation

The problem that US citizens feel most directly is rising inflation. The situation has improved in recent months, which could be beneficial to Biden and his administration.

Journalists from the well-known Nevada Public Radio told us that listeners often complain about price increases.

"Everybody's talking about the economy, because everybody wants a little more money in their pocket. But, of course, with the increase in inflation over the last few years, the dollar is not nearly where it used to be. So, of course, that's an important issue, especially here in Nevada, where fuel costs are generally higher than in the rest of the country, grocery costs tend to be higher than the rest of the country," they told us.

Although inflation is falling, prices are still higher than they were a few years ago, meaning the issue is likely to be prominent in the presidential campaign this year. In recent months, polls have shown that support for Biden has been declining, and political analysts believe that this is in large part due to people's perception that the economy in the is still in bad shape, even though the data shows otherwise.

Apart from the fuel and food prices, the cost of renting apartments has also gone up. This problem especially affects immigrants, who come to the US looking for work and who do not own property in that country.

Trump is very optimistic about the American economy. He is repeatedly stressing that it is the strongest economy in the world, but he also criticized his opponent Biden because of inflation.

The fact is that when it comes to the economy, people trust Trump more, because of his policies during the Covid pandemic.

What will happen in the coming period and which of these problems will ultimately decide the next US president - to see that, we will have to wait until early November.

(Telegraf.rs)