On Wednesday, CNN’s Brian Stelter emphasized a significant fact: “Some Americans are plugging in to [the 2020 Presidential Election] for the first time… [t]hose of us in the press need to start our stories at the beginning, not the middle, and direct readers to the foundational information they need.” Thus, I’m dedicating this TLT to an informative analysis of Trump and Biden’s policy positions—as opposed to promulgating a comparatively trivial examination of Trump’s divisive rhetoric and tax records, or an inspection of the scandals for which the Biden's have been accused. 

For corroborative purposes, see https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ and https://joebiden.com/joes-vision/.

Concerning COVID-19, Trump and Biden represent opposing viewpoints. In light of societal hardship, the former stresses the benefits of a speedy, economic recovery. To supplement his position, Trump has invested substantially in the rapid development of a vaccine—endeavoring to justify a proportionally swift reopening. On the other hand, Biden’s platform entails a gradual economic resurgence, characterized by an expansion of testing, a national mask mandate, and the diminishment of racial discrepancies in socioeconomic recovery. 

But COVID-19 isn’t the only issue gripping American politics: the prospect of racial bias in law enforcement, and the manner in which it should be addressed, stand at the forefront of our political climate. Trump, while explicitly opposed to white supremacy and the use of chokeholds in policing, doesn’t believe racism is systemically ingrained into American society. Rather, he suggests that instances of police brutality against racial minorities are cases of individual prejudice—cases he’s aimed to mitigate with the Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities. Inversely, Biden ascribes to the view that racism is systemic, prompting his promise to root out and remove pervasive biases in law enforcement via Justice Department investigations. 

In regards to foreign policy, particularly China, Trump and Biden’s policies are more cohesive—but still distinct. Both candidates promise to take a ‘hard-stance’ on U.S. relations with China, vowing to impose sanctions on the authoritarian regime for its political incursions into Hong Kong, as well as its aspiration to garner economic primacy at the expense of American manufacturing. For Trump, this oppositional attitude has manifested in a U.S. trade war with China (resulting in significant tariffs implemented by both states) and successful negotiations with European leaders to shun certain Chinese corporations (e.g. Huawei). Similarly, Biden has said he’ll actualize international sanctions on the Chinese government, focusing on its numerous human-rights violations. 

On other matters, Trump and Biden can generally be counted on to accord with the ideological preferences of their parties. Biden favors a $15 federal minimum wage, Trump takes an expansive view of the second amendment (though has supported increased background-checks for gun buyers), and the candidates take opposing stances on abortion. 

These facets of the Presidential Election are, in my opinion, paramount. Certainly, the character, past-transactions, and scandals of each candidate are incontrovertibly consequential—but they ought to take second-place to the actual platform of each prospective president.