How the current situation will impact the US presidential election
It’s a strange time to be alive at the moment, as the coronavirus pandemic causes widespread disruption and unprecedented measures put in place to prevent the virus’ spread. It’s a situation that has put world leaders and politicians under incredible pressure, as they seek to limit the virus’ impact and bring their nations together in a united effort to defeat it.
There has been a degree of tension in the United States over President Trump’s handling of the situation, with the president making a number of remarks that have been described in some quarters as a “debacle”.
In the midst of all this, the looming US presidential election has had to take something of a backseat as far as news headlines are concerned, but as it stands the election is still slated to take place in November, with Joe Biden looking likely to be the Democratic candidate who stands against Trump. At the moment, you will find all the betting odds on Betfair’s political market point towards a Trump victory, but with the country in a state of uncertainty at the moment, it’s hard to know which way it will go.
Given the scale of the coronavirus outbreak, and the likelihood that certain measures will have to be in place for some time to contain its spread, it’s difficult to say what this upcoming election will look like. If social distancing measures are in place, the chances of campaign events and debates going ahead where hundreds or thousands of people are likely to gather will be slim.
It will be interesting to see how the election campaign is run if physical gatherings are not allowed. Perhaps virtual campaign speeches would be held in different areas, with members of the public able to watch an online stream of a speech. In terms of debates, these would probably have to take place without members of the public.
Such a scenario would amplify the importance of social media for both candidates, which would be interesting given that both Trump and Biden are in their 70s. Of course, Trump is highly active on Twitter and is no stranger to using the site to get his messages across, so perhaps that would give him the edge.
When the election does eventually come around, the national mood could be critical in terms of which candidate comes out on top. If the coronavirus continues to have a devastating impact for many more months, then confidence in the current regime may be at an all-time low. The public could be keen to see a change in the way the government handles the containment of the virus.
The way Trump handles this crisis will undoubtedly have a major bearing on how people vote in the presidential election. If some deem his comments and decisions surrounding the virus to be putting the health of the general public at risk, then they may look to cast their vote elsewhere and political betting advice may change. On the other hand, if Trump ultimately proves himself an astute leader in this time of uncertainty, he may go into the election in a stronger position than ever.
Of course, with the whole situation developing by the day, it’s difficult to make confident predictions about what circumstances will be like surrounding this year’s US presidential election. All we can do is wait and see what happens in the coming months.