Takeaway from the US presidential elections.
The US elections are like the Olympics of politics, there is only one winner who gets the gold medal and it occurs every four years. It is one of the most prestigious political events of the year, as it would decide who will lead the world in the following years to come. The entire world watches it, filled with anxiety be it Americans or Non-Americans.
This election was not like the previous election, the presidential nominees for this year were Donald J Trump representing the Republican Party and Joseph R Biden representing the Democratic Party. The US masquerades as the torch barrier for the world when they have no idea how to take care of themselves, the US elections were filled with drama and dirty politics.
The two candidates could not be any more different from one another. Given how poorly Trump dealt with the pandemic, he was bound to lose. All media polls showed Biden in the lead in majority of the swing states. But given the razor-thin victory that Biden achieved shows how deeply the American society is divided and how many people are racist, sexist, and xenophobic. Despite the Trump administration’s utter failure to address the pandemic, over 70 million Americans still voted for him.
What has that taught me?
Biden taught me how to be a winner and behave like one and at the same time, Trump taught me how to accept defeat with humility while upholding my integrity.
The road to presidential victory was not an easy one for Joe Biden. He contested the primaries numerous times before dropping. Finally, Biden was elected as the presidential nominee by the Democratic Party for the first time in the year 2020, his slogan for the campaign was ‘Heal the soul of the nation’ and that has resonated with the public.
His victory was highlighted as the victory of the people, his remarks were egalitarianistic and showed humility. Biden was humble throughout the voting process and demonstrated the true behavior of a winner. When he won — he promised to be a better human than his counterpart, and swore a better future for the working-class and a better healthcare plan for the public.
On the other hand, Trump’s defeat has taught me how important it is to be humble and lose with integrity. Trump is not accustomed to losing, and when he lost he claimed that the elections were rigged. He went to the Supreme Court claiming voter fraud and yet he could not prove his case. Trump preached to his followers how the election victory had been taken away from them, with no evidence. Furthermore, he used his powers as the sitting president to make sure that the election system was rigged in his favor and tried to block early voting; thereby making the election process even more cumbersome.
While Biden’s victory may be a step forward, there is still much work to be done. Biden has inherited a broken nation rife with systemic racism, wealth inequality, and political division. To ensure the progress of the US, Biden would have to do more work than any sitting president in the last 100 years to overcome the financial and medical instability caused by the pandemic.