What started as a race between numerous candidates has now boiled down to the final two. On November 3rd, 2020 citizens of the US will cast their votes to decide who will become the next President of The United States. Will it be Joe Biden, the vice president to former President Obama or will President Trump stay on for another term? While it’s too early to make predictions about this race, it just means you still have time to see where both people stand on key issues.
From domestic issues such as healthcare to global issues such as foreign policies, Trump and Biden could not be more different in their views. During this campaign, we have had numerous insights from Biden about his plans for the future if he gets elected. Meanwhile President Trump decided to focus on painting a successful picture of his current tenure. Keeping both these things in mind, here is where both candidates stand on different issues.
Foreign Policies.
Donald Trump: In his speeches, President Trump has spoken extensively about his promise to bring down the number of US troops that have been stationed overseas. He has also promised to continue investing in the US Military so that the country is always protected. President Trump also wants to continue maintaining trade tariffs with China. In the matter of foreign aid, Trump has talked about putting America first and how he only wishes to give foreign aid to countries that provide benefits to America. This promise took a more physical form in his current tenure as Trump cut back funding for a brief period of time to countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala because he blamed them for not controlling their citizens from migrating to the United States. Earlier this year, he also proposed a 21% cut to foreign aid spending but the move was rejected by Congress.
Joe Biden: Biden’s focus is going to be on repairing the US’s relationship with its allies. In a contrast to President Trump, Biden wants to do away with unilateral tariffs on China and instead force China into an international coalition. Biden’s campaign has promised to boost aid as he considers development aid as a vital investment not only for the success of other countries but also for US security and prosperity. Biden has outlined a plan where he wishes to expand an earlier program that he spearheaded as vice president that would create a $4 billion regional aid strategy to tackle the root causes behind emigration from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Biden has talked about wanting to expand foreign aid funding.
Guns and Second Amendment
Trump: President Trump has been pretty vocal in his support of the Second Amendment which gives Americans the right to bear arms. After a string of mass shootings and massive pressure from the public, Trump proposed a law that would make it harder for people to buy assault weapons by tightening the background checks on individuals who wished to buy them. However after the initial mention, no legislation was put forward for this.
Joe Biden: At the opposite end of the spectrum against Trump on gun issues is former Vice President Biden. Biden has proposed a law which would bar all individuals from buying assault weapons as their sale would be banned. He also wants to enforce background checks and a cap on the number of guns a single person can purchase in a month. He also wants to fund more research to find out ways through which gun violence can be prevented.
World Health Organization
Donald Trump: The WHO found drawing President Trump’s ire after the Covid pandemic hit the world. What was at first a threat to defund the organization until it underwent changes proposed by him soon turned into reality as the US started withdrawing their support from the WHO in July. The process of withdrawal will take an year to complete and could have devastating consequences for health programs around the world as the US is the top donor for WHO.
Joe Biden: Biden has made a public announcement on Twitter that if he is elected, he would rejoin WHO on his very first day of the Presidency. While Biden has supported claims that the agency has some vast improvements it needs to make in order to serve its stakeholders better, he also thinks that the US must take back its leadership role in the organization so they can continue to influence reform. Like Trump, he also thinks that the US must not continue to be WHO’s top donor.
Healthcare
Donald Trump: The Affordable Care Act enacted by former President Obama has been met by serious pushback from President Trump. He has been pushing to repeal the law. Trump has promoted the use of private insurers through the Medicare Advantage program.
Joe Biden: Biden wants to expand the Affordable Care Act by restoring funding for consumer outreach and increasing premium subsidies. Biden wants to lower the age of Medicare eligibility to sixty and make coverage of hearing, vision and dental a standard practice for all.
Climate Change
Donald Trump: While the world continues to deal with the threat of climate change, Trump has rejected the science behind it. In 2019, he began the process of withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement claiming that it was too costly and disadvantageous to the United States. The participation of the US in the agreement comes to an end after the election. He has also rolled back fossil fuel regulations. Trumps wants to increase drilling for oil and gas while simultaneously roll back environmental protections.
Joe Biden: Biden has a $2 trillion plan to combat climate change. He has also talked about making the US rejoin the Paris agreement. He also wants to recommit the US to the Green Climate Fund, which Trump has ceased funding to. Biden wants the US to reach zero emissions by 2050. He has proposed banning new leases that would allow for oil and gas drilling on public lands.
Reproductive Rights
Donald Trump: In his tenure, Trump expanded the Mexico city policy, which prohibits the US from giving aid to any foreign NGOs whose family planning services provide abortions or even information related to abortions.
Joe Biden: Biden has talked about wanting to end the Mexico City Policy. While Trump’s standing on abortion rights has been steadfast from the start, Biden has put forth mixed signals. He previously voted in favor of an amendment that would allow states to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Gender-based Violence
Donald Trump: The US justice department, under Trump narrowed down the definition of domestic violence to harm that only constitutes a felony or a misdemeanor. This eradicated psychological, emotional and economic abuse from the definition of domestic violence.
Joe Biden: Putting an end to gender-based violence is one of the key focuses of Biden’s platform for this election. In 1994 he had co-sponsored the Violence Against Women Act and he has talked about enacting the 2019 Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act if the bill is not passed by Senate.
Economy
Donald Trump: As a part of his campaign, President Trump has talked about creating 10 million jobs in the next ten months. He has promised the creation of one million new small businesses. Trump has also talked extensively about delivering an income tax cut and providing companies with tax credits so they would have an incentive to keep employment opportunities within the US.
Joe Biden: Biden has the opposite view when it comes to taxation. He wants to raise taxes for high earners so the money can be used for investment in public services. However his tax increase is only going to be for people who are earning more than $400,000 a year. Biden also wants to raise the minimum federal wage to $15 an hour from the current wage of $7.25 an hour.
Race and Policing
Donald Trump: While race has been a hot-button issue for this election, Trump has spoken in length about how he believes that racism is not a systemic problem within the US police forces. Even as the country was rocked by protests over the killing of African Americans by police, Trump has lent his support to law enforcement instead of the victims. He has opposed the use of chokeholds and has offered grants to states to improve their practices.
Joe Biden: Joe Biden thinks that the law enforcement in the US suffers from racial bias and wants to set policies that would address this bias and fix it. He wants to offer grants to states in order to incentivize them to reduce their incarceration rates. However much like Trump, he thinks that defunding the police is not the solution. Instead he wants additional resources so that standards and protocols can be maintained by law enforcement authorities.
The key to voting for the best choice is rooted in research. So before the day arrives, make sure to read into the different policies that would be implemented by each President nominee so you can make the right decision.
With 6 years of experience, I bring to the table captivating and informative writing in the world news category. My expertise covers a range of industries, including tourism, technology, forex and stocks. From brief social media posts to in-depth articles, I am dedicated to creating compelling content for various platforms.
