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US Election 2020: American expats bat for Joe Biden

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Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden greets supporters during a drive-in rally at Cellairis Amphitheatre in Lakewood. AP

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden greets supporters during a drive-in rally at Cellairis Amphitheatre in Lakewood. AP

Abu Dhabi - American expats found fault in self-obsessed Trump politicising the pandemic and issues of racial inequality.

Published: Fri 30 Oct 2020, 9:17 PM

Updated: Sat 31 Oct 2020, 8:34 AM

Overwhelming majority of American residents Khaleej Times spoke to favoured Democratic challenger Joe Biden over President Donald Trump ahead of the big Election Day on Tuesday. American expats found fault in self-obsessed Trump politicising the pandemic and issues of racial inequality.

After the “daily craziness” of past years, Doug Cutchins, an expat from Iowa, is convinced that Trump doesn’t deserve another chance.

“This election is a referendum on Trump’s failed leadership. Coronavirus is just the latest evidence that he’s fundamentally unprepared for this role and has shown no capacity to grow into it. Biden wasn’t my first choice for the Democrats but he will provide calm, steady, compassionate leadership to fix all of the problems Trump has created. After the daily craziness of the last four years, I’m ready to be bored by American politics again. To me, this election is not about a choice between competing plans and visions, but is simply a question of whether Trump deserves another chance. With 225,000 dead, an enormous national debt, and the rest of the world laughing at our leadership, the answer is clearly no,” Cutchins said.

Steve Severance, an expat from California, is a former Republican supporter who pins hope on Biden to right the wrongs of the Trump administration.

“I am generally a Republican but I am absolutely for Biden this time. I don’t think Trump has the character or the temperament to be the president. We need to restore a sense of decency and normalcy to America and fix the coronavirus. We need a president who is more for America and less for himself. Policy wise there may be many things I disagree with Biden but I think he is a decent man, a moderate, and really cares about America. He will do his best to get us through the coronavirus and get the economy going again.”

Severance lauded Trump for brokering the historic Israel-UAE peace deal.

“It is probably the biggest accomplishment of his administration.”

US divided right now

Sandhya Rani, an expat visiting Dubai from Virginia, said Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic and economic fallout, and issues of racial inequality and H-1B visa rules have made him unpopular.

“While the whole world is battling the virus, wearing a mask is a political decision in America. Trump started wearing a mask in public only after the election fever gripped the masses.”

Rani underlined the situation of marginalised communities, especially on the issue of anti-Black racism, which is never addressed by the Trump administration. She said the new norms on H-1B visas are being done to support Americans and against immigrants.

Philip Evan Cowlishaw said America is a lot more divided now than he left it 12 years back and sees Biden as a safe bet to give the country a much-needed dose of love.

“People say Trump has done some good stuff but all I see is a lot of problems and divisions. He has spoken more than 15,000 lies. There were cases of Mexican children separated from their families. There is a lot of stuff like that. I don’t hate Trump but I like Biden and running mate Kamala Harris. We want someone who is serious about his job.”

Cowlishaw’s family is a mix of Democrats and Republicans, who are residing in Michigan, Indiana, Georgia and Alabama.

“When I look at Washington, I see people fighting for power, joblessness and systematic racism. Black lives matter. The country is so divided right now,” Cowlishaw added.

— ashwani@khaleejtimes.com



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