The United States (U.S.) has written a new history in the recent presidential election held in early November. An unprecedentedly high ratio of voting through distanced mailing and numerous problems regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and human rights created extensive tension between the two candidates, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. and Donald Trump. The U.S. has never faced such division in its home, politically polarized between the two sides, and the society left like an unpinned grenade. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are set to be the next authority who will totally alter what Trump has built so far. What they will do for the U.S. and the world is to be revealed soon.
Donald Trump: Make America Great Again
Born into a real-estate rich family, Donald Trump has grown into a successful businessman in his career despite experiencing several failures. When he declared that he would run in the presidential election in 2016, the nation literally made fun of the man, even major broadcasting stations such as Fox News and Central News Network (CNN) derided his move as “the beginning of the end of Donald Trump.” However, shattering everyone’s mockery, Trump was elected as president, triumphing over Hillary Clinton despite the actual number of votes were standing in Hillary’s favor. Not only was America in surprise, but the globe was also stunned that a politically inexperienced man had sat down to rule the world’s most powerful nation.
Trump’s course of action, however, was not as atrocious as the public expected after all. He has achieved the lowest unemployment rate since George Bush’s term and made history with the North Korea-U.S. Summit both in Singapore and at the 38th parallel. No other U.S. president has tried to communicate so directly with the Kim regime, and Trump was the first-ever to actually step inside North Korean territory.
On the other hand, to promote the U.S. economy and assure safety in the nation, Trump reinforced the wall at the Mexico-U.S. border, which brought major conflict in foreign relations. Previous U.S. presidents have not gone as far as Trump did, especially with China, banning the Chinese cellphone industry and application market. He also sparked racial division in the states, causing a phenomenal number of protests all over the territory regarding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.
Finally, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe, Trump walked into his dark days. Trump was criticized for not being alarmed about the crisis, seldom wearing a mask, even when countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong had provided role models to quickly lower daily confirmed cases in the early stages. Moreover, he had not put much effort into lowering the infection rate by making repugnant statements in interviews such as “the more you examine, the more confirmed cases will be.” With a grand finale, Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis in early October was by far the most decisive issue that led to Trump’s falling credibility.
Joe Biden: Build Back Better
Unlike Trump, Biden was born into a comparatively underprivileged family and did not do well in studies. However, he was extraordinarily physical in American football and later studied law in order to achieve his dream of becoming the U.S. president. He then entered the Democratic Party as a senator at the age of 30 and held his position seven more times before running for vice-president under former president Barack Obama. Biden’s 35 years of achievement in law, foreign affairs, and national defense was highly appreciated, and now he stands to become the next president of the world’s most influential country.
As an experienced politician, Joe Biden has consistently stated that foreign affairs are the key to building a strong nation. According to Biden’s official campaign website, he asserted that Trump’s policy of rejecting the global economy and culture should be put aside and “the U.S. should thrive by reforming international organizations and treaties,” to regain leadership around the world. Moreover, Biden’s plan to “Secure our Values as a Nation of Immigrants” shows a more open manner to a wide range of races. Such promises worked as a positive point in this election.
However, Biden was halted by a sexual assault allegation by his former staff assistant Tara Reade in March, where she filed in a case accusing Biden of sexually harassing her in her past career. She mentioned that Biden touched, penetrated, and kissed her several times without consent but could not accuse him at the time. Instead, she complained to Biden’s executive assistant and two top aides, who declined to take action. The case lit up again in the 2020 presidential election, and The New York Times investigated seven other women who complained about Biden and reported that a few of them believed Ms. Reade’s account.
The Election Promises
Both sides, considering that they have extremely different perspectives on many issues, have proposed quite distinct election promises from each other. During his regime, Trump kept a significant number of his promises by cutting domestic business’s taxes, revising trade tariffs and reinforcing the immigrant policy. Also, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was replaced by Trump’s new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, setting the margin on exempting tariffs on products higher.
However, Trump’s decisions were not always pleasing for certain people. For instance, former regulations about opening the nation’s border to immigrants from Syria and Libya have been eliminated. He claimed these countries are “terror-prone places” and their people are “detrimental to the interest of the United States.” In addition, the nation’s exit from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international accord “aimed at curbing climate change by reducing greenhouse gases,” proved Trump’s indifference to the global climate crisis. The agreement included over 200 nations, and President Trump became the third to exit following Syria and Nicaragua.
There were also a few promises Trump failed to accomplish during his regime, the first being repealing Obamacare. Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a medical system which successfully reduced the number of people without health insurance. Trump did not believe in Obama’s spirit and practically rescinded the tax penalty for not registering for the ACA, which was mandatory before. Moreover, his ambition to root out the Islamic State of Iraq and the Syria (ISIS) from both the internet and the real world did not work. What is now left for Trump is to rebuild the nation’s manufacturing industry and carefully restore the domestic economy up to a four percent growth rate per year.
In contrast to Trump’s move, Biden plans to take more care on solving the pandemic, eradicating racial discrimination, and keep track on global warming, says Professor Ha Shang-Eung (Department of Political Science, Sogang University). Along with his slogan, “Build Back America,” one of his major plans, “Beat COVID-19,” consists of detailed highlights such as implementing mask mandates nationwide and rebuilding the medical defenses that Trump has dismantled to “predict, prevent, and mitigate pandemic threats.” On the other hand, Professor Ha believes that the new government may not successfully be able to eradicate racial problems since “it is hard to imagine that the federal government will openly try to fix the inherent racial discrimination by violating each state’s autonomy.”
Another significant step Biden scheduled is to restore global partnership and bring back American leadership abroad. He plans to recover from the scene Trump made with his sudden departure from the 2019 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, and strengthen alliances with South Korea, Australia, Japan, and other Asian democracies, while “sustaining an ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” as Joebiden.com proposed. Looking forward to the recovery of the relationship with America and its firsthand alliances, South Korea hopes to yield enhanced military and trading policies in the coming years.
The Intense and Unexpected Results
What has made this year’s election result so hard to predict lies in the election system the U.S. has. Unlike the South Korean presidential election, where most votes are held in dedicated buildings, the mail-in-ballot system was talked about to have unfair results and is “fake” according to Trump. However, Professor Ha does not believe in Trump’s words, stating that, “the system caused no trouble so far, and five states – Hawaii, Washington DC, Oregon, Colorado and Utah – have been only accepting mail-in-ballot for the past years.”
In addition, Professor Ha finds no justification in Trump’s claim that mailing was in the Democrat’s favor because the system is purposed to provide voting opportunities even to those who work or cannot physically visit the polls. Also, as the opportunity goes to those who live in rural areas, he added that “people in rural area are more likely to vote for the Republican Party,” claiming that mail-in-ballot is as equally fair as the traditional voting polls. However, he said that this election’s postal vote result might have been on the Democrat’s favor because Republican favorers tended to vote on the spot – for Trump’s constant claim of mail-in-ballot at risk of manipulation.
The postal voting system was not the only determining key in the election, but there were other factors also that greatly affected the result. Trump’s failure to prevent and respond to the current pandemic must have been the major reason that led him to defeat. Professor Park Ihn-hwi (Division of International Studies, Ewha Womans University) added some note on the result that the election was not a “Trump vs. Biden” but rather a “for Trump vs. against Trump” match. He suggested that masks worked as a “political symbol” of the current pandemic for citizens as Trump rarely had one on and Biden constantly wore one in official meetings and speeches.
In addition, cases of misconduct and discrimination against black Americans and Asian citizens clearly put Trump in second place. Although Trump was keen on manipulating the unemployment rate and certain tax policies, what he lacked was regarding basic human rights and kind-heartedness to other races. Meanwhile, Biden was also halted for his misconduct on Ms. Reade, but it did not affect much of his public support since there was not enough evidence and testimony to support the case.
The Battle Against Voter Suppression
“Voter suppression never went away. The tactics just changed,” said the Center for Public Integrity in an analysis published on October 28. During the days leading up to the election, some American citizens – especially those of color – claimed to have experienced “barriers” to voting. The U.S. elections are indeed known to have a long history of voter suppression, an attempt to deny certain groups of people their voting rights with tactics that prevent them from having their ballots counted.
“There are around three voter suppression tactics – in terms of state laws – being discussed at the moment, starting with voter identification (ID) laws,” Professor Ha explained. Different states in the U.S. have different requirements for voter identification. In the mid 2000’s, however, several states began to push for laws that required photo IDs – which, in the U.S., mainly consist of passports and driver’s licenses. “The problem,” said Professor Ha, “is that a significant number of ethnic minorities living in disadvantaged areas do not own passports of driver’s licenses.”
Professor Ha also pointed to felony disenfranchisement laws as another instance of voter suppression in the 21st century. “Several states practice laws that disenfranchise felons who have been held in custody for over a year, and some do not give back felons their voting rights even after they finish their sentence,” he said. “Because the judicial system of the U.S. tends to be biased against ethnic minorities, one could say that felony disenfranchisement laws effectively lead to racial discrimination.” The U.S.’ policy of removing names from the voter registration list can also work against ethnic minorities who do not have Anglo-Saxon names, Professor Ha added. Apart from the aforementioned “tactics,” various reports of voter suppression and intimidation have surfaced during this year’s election – including political extremists showing up at a ballot at St. Petersburg fully armed, and *USA Today* claiming to have received more than 100,000 calls to their Election Protection hotline.
Stand Back and Stand By
Yet there also looms an equally dangerous threat in the long and turbid presidential elections — post-election violence. “Stand back and stand by,” Trump told the Proud Boys when asked to denounce and disavow white supremacist organizations during the presidential debate. The Proud Boys, some of whom were involved in the Unite the Right rally, is an organization in which members call themselves “Western chauvinists,” yet is seen by the FBI and the Anti-Defamation as an extremist organization. The public, however, pointed out that Trump’s words sounded closer to a call to arms rather than a public denunciation.
The public’s reaction to Trump’s comments reflects the growing fear of post-election violence among the American public living in a society that is perhaps the most polarized it has been in the 21st century. On September 8, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed in a draft assessment that white supremacy remained to be the “most lethal threat” to the U.S., while peaceful protests gone violent such as a minority of the BLM movements are also the object of concern for some people. According to a poll conducted by YouGov on October 14, and international market research company, 19 percent of Americans believed that violence could be justified in the name of politics, while 56 percent believed that there would be increased violence after the elections. Such a result seems to support the possibility of post-election violence in an overly heated society.
Not Going Down Without a Fight
As mentioned above, there have been countless obstacles in this year’s presidential elections. However, the biggest one yet remains to be cleared, as experts’ predictions have come true: President Trump filed a series of lawsuits in an attempt to challenge the results of the election both before and after the race has been called. Trump’s campaign filed lawsuits to stop the vote counts in a number of battleground states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. In his claim, Trump argued that election officials in the battleground states have allowed ballot fraud to rig the election in favor of liberals. However, no concrete evidence of irregularities was offered, with two lawsuits immediately denied in Georgia and Michigan.
With Biden having become the president-elect, President Donald Trump and his legal team promised that the legal effort to contest it would roll on. Shortly after the news of Biden’s win, Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, alleged that the election in Philadelphia, which had contributed to Biden’s win, was involved in fraud. Trump added in his remarks at the White House on November 6: “If you count the legal votes, I easily win.” He also claimed that Biden’s surges in battleground states were the result of “corruption.”
An End to Trumpism
Regardless of Trump’s string of lawsuits and threats, on November 7, Biden laid out his plans for office along with his vice president-elect Harris. His presidential agenda, comprising issues such as COVID-19, the economy, climate change and immigration, presented a stark contrast to that of the incumbent Trump. According to The Washington Post, Biden announced that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris Climate Accord and the World Health Organization (WHO) on his first day of office — essentially reversing Trump’s decision to leave both agencies. Biden’s promises appear as a break from the individualism that characterized Trump’s time in office and a return to multilateralism.
Perhaps one of Biden’s most visible break from the Trump government is his plan for the complete transformation of the government’s current COVID-19 response which has often been criticized as “messy.” Biden has made it clear that he would prioritize the combat against COVID-19, including plans for a more widespread testing and a policy of cooperating with state leaders to enact nationwide mask mandates. On November 9, Biden announced the formation of a 12-member new coronavirus task force: “The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently… and protecting at-risk populations,” he said, emphasizing his science-based approach towards the pandemic.
Compared to that of Trump, who has shown a rather dismissive attitude towards COVID-19 by constantly underplaying its significance and refusing to wear masks during public appearances, Biden’s pandemic response shows a stronger stance against the pandemic. “This is not about Democrat, Republican or Independent,” Biden said in an address in August. “This is about saving American lives, so let’s institute a mask mandate nationwide, starting immediately.”
Another central agenda of Biden’s administration is the tackling of “systematic racism.” Many believe that a key factor that allowed Biden to win over the Democrats is his focus on healing and unity in a time of division. An example is his policy on racism. He announced his plans to lift Trump’s travel bans on travelers from 13 countries, most of which were Muslim or African nations. Experts also expect Biden to reopen to all qualified applicants the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which the Trump administration had stopped accepting. Regarding the issue of police violence, one of the many triggers of polarization in American society — Biden promised to expand the power of the Justice Department and strengthen the investigation on police departments that practice excessive force and discriminatory policing.
Korea — Still Caught in the Crossfire?
There has been much attention within the country as to what Biden’s win means for South Korea, which has often found itself caught in the crossfire between international superpowers in the past. Some experts believe that Biden’s win puts pressure on South Korea to make a choice between the U.S. and China in terms of economy. “It is true that Korea, who maintains close diplomatic relations with both the U.S. and China, feels more pressured to choose a side whenever conflict intensifies between the two countries. In retrospect, one of the most prominent outcomes of the Trump administration is the intensification of the U.S.-China conflict,” mentioned Professor Park.
However, such pressures will not diminish with the Biden administration, according to Professor Park. “All politicians have a tendency to rely on their own experiences, and Biden is characterized by his time as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as Vice President during the Obama administration who took part in unprecedented diplomatic policies. Biden will believe that he knows China better than anyone else, and will pressure China albeit in a different manner than that of the Trump administration… the Korean government will eventually realize that the strategical ambiguity they have taken between the U.S. and China is no longer feasible.”
In addition, the Biden administration will want to emphasize the importance of the cooperation between Korea, U.S., and Japan, said Professor Park. “They will eventually demand us to actively take part in the cooperation system between the three countries. Although this does not pose itself as a problem as it is fundamentally in accord with our national interest, the pending issue concerning Korean victims of wartime forced labor demands to be resolved.” According to Professor Park, what matters now for the Korean government is to first establish a central principle for their diplomatic policy, then apply a principle that suits Korea’s national interest regardless of both countries.
Nuclear Dilemma Remains
Another dilemma that faces South Korea is the new chapter in the U.S. – North Korea relations. In a very different manner from the incumbent President Trump’s, Biden has continuously emphasized the importance of a diplomatic approach to North Korea and its nuclear issue. “With regards to North Korea, Biden has emphasized his decision to take a bottom-up method rather than Trump’s top-down method,” stated Professor Park. The Biden administration is also more likely to pressure North Korea into a “global standard” of a sort. This may not necessarily good news for the U.S.-North Korea relations, however. He emphasized, “With North Korea having announced the completion of their nuclear ammunition, the Biden administration will have to pay attention to the nuclear dilemma.”
However, according to Professor Park, North Korea seems unlikely to attempt any sudden armed provocations considering that their economy has been gravely affected by the closing of their borders following the COVID-19 pandemic “although it is hard to say anything for certain at the moment.” He added that an ideal U.S.-North Korea relationship would be one of mutual gain achieved through a step-by-step process. Nonetheless, further progress on Biden’s North Korea policy depends on whether or not Trump concedes to the election results, as Trump’s unwillingness to do so has led to a restriction on the flow of national security information to the president-elect Biden.
“The Time to Heal in America”
It has been a tough road for the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, and the country remains scarred by past mistakes including those concerning the pandemic and other international conflicts. Yet the most important wound to mend is perhaps the deep political polarization that has essentially split the American society in half, and which has doubtless taken its toll on the international society as well — including Korea. “This is the time to heal in America,” said Biden, making a call of unity in his victory speech on November 7. After years of division and chaos, it indeed seems to be time to put political differences aside to co-exist not as democrats and conservatives, but rather as members of humanity.