US Presidential Election: share your thoughts with us

Well, I'm sorely disappointed that the race is so close. Even if Biden wins, what kind of country is it that is doesn't roundly reject a president as crazy as Donald Trump?  That is a big part of why I am in Ireland. I don't want to be a part of that anymore.

I hear u loud & clear...& a big reason y I'm "exploring" my options 2dy.

Concur...all the craziness.

Too many Americans not only are complacent but are embolden by Donald Trump. This is no longer my home. I must accept this reality and move forward in finding a safe haven outside of the US.

One of the best thrillers of this century, with extended suspense whether the evil anti-hero will prevail over his likeable, but clumsy opponent, with everyone hoping an unforeseeable stroke of luck will lead to a happy end.
This is an appropriate climax of four years filled with giddying drama and comedy (but nothing based on facts or science).

ShangrilaShae wrote:

Too many Americans not only are complacent but are embolden by Donald Trump. This is no longer my home. I must accept this reality and move forward in finding a safe haven outside of the US.

Before any other Expats decide on their permanent country based on the above concept, consider...

1.  Trump may have lost by six million or more when the popular votes are counted.  His margin of defeat in the previous election was about half that amount.  By comparison, Richard Nixon lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 by 112,000 votes.

2.  It's tough to beat an incumbent U.S. president.  Presidents have been denied a second four-year term only twice in the past century (Bush the Elder and Carter).  It's especially tough to defeat one who exploits the government and the bully pulpit and employs dubious tricks in support of his re-election bid.

Fare well, Shangrila.

cccmedia

There are different ways of framing it, but I keep coming back to this:  what could Trump have botched any more than he actually did over the past four years?  It's unpleasant that Trump is insulting and annoying, or even sexist and racist, but I'm talking about actual impact.  Tarnishing the role of the US as a trade partner and international relations leader covers both, image and function.

Trump's greatest achievement was supporting a tax cut for the wealthy, ballooning national debt, which didn't benefit anyone outside the richest 1%.  Even that 1% didn't change fortunes; they didn't need it.  Trump's greatest failure was spreading mis-information versus actually playing any positive role in the pandemic.  Starting a misguided and pointless trade war with China was significant, with plenty of real economic impact on both sides. 

The list goes on and on.  Trump just added import taxes to Thai fruit to try to force Thailand to reduce their own tariffs and accept more US imports, likely pushing them towards closer partnership with China.  But those sorts of issues don't really even make the news.  It's symptomatic of the broader scale of problems.  Trump acted randomly, with limited justification for decisions, as if a child had been leading the US instead.   There was a possible justification for that step against Thailand, real trade imbalance issues.  That step just made no sense in relation to actual realistic outcomes; it was a dumb thing to do.

American people vote with their gut, and can't separate real news from media spin (probably at least partly true on both sides).  Many, maybe most, fail to recognize their own best interests.  Unless media tells them something is a problem they couldn't possibly suspect that it's a problem (like the wage gap, national debt, climate change, etc.).  In a sense the country truly deserves to experience four more years of decline, even with a narrow majority voting against Trump.

The US election has turned out to be a laughingstock and an embarrassment around the world.  The recent election is Dominican Republic was better handled.
After the pollsters predicted a landslide victory for Biden yet again they got this wrong.  Exit poll results are bazaar.  I am so used to exit polls giving a prediction within hours of polls closing but no so in the US.  There are serious allegations of fraud and now we have the lawyers on both sides standing by to argue the matter in the Supreme court.  This seems to happen on a regular basis-I remember the incident with Al Gore and Bush.
I am completely dumbstruck as to why in the US this happens so regularly.  As the largest “free world economy” these instances do not provide confidence to us watching this “Punch & Judy” show.
On a purely personal note and thank goodness I do not live in the US; I believe Biden will be a disaster economically.  If he wins, he will not control the Senate so one can see 2 years of impasse.  As for Trump, there are so many people out to take him to court, send him to jail, I guess his subliminal legal actions are probably there so as to be in a position of strength to negotiate a deal for his personal safety, should he not win the White house.
In short, these elections are not an example of how to run elections and Americans have a lot to learn from its European neighbours.

Hmm..., although, defeating an "incumbent president" hasn't been the "norm," it hasn't been "impossible" as well noted, and I add, it has been done twice in "just" the last 50 years over an adult's life span, therefore, not "impossible."

Absolutely. I've had my mind on relocating from the US for many, many years; Canada, UK, or Africa have always been in my top 3 choices; not in any particular order. I didn't want to go alone, but none of my friends wanted to leave.  Now that the years have passed, family, close friends have passed away, and people moved in and out of my life, I've made the decision to "go" after completing a graduate degree in Psychology/Mental Health which I began some time ago.  There's nothing more keeping me here. No marriage. No children. No family. No close friends. Relocating has been a desire in me, and yes, I've been complacent by the "easy access" for obtainable living essentials. But, I realize what was I created to do here?  What is my commission?  When I can no longer peaceably abide the ridicule, spiritual depravity, "buffoonery" and absolute disregard from the head of this country genuine perspective for any "people of color" in this country; peoples who the "minority" feel they can continually put their "foot on the neck" initially deceptively, surreptitiously, behind closed doors, but now brazenly, openly, shamelessly with cavalier and arrogant disdain and disrespect is too despicable for words. ***

You're correct...the US no longer holds "respect" in "any" area of global importance as it once did. How truly heroic when countries much less developed have persevered over the decades and fought for their positions to gain autonomy and strength and the US has dropped so so deeply and become so entrenched in its own net of greed, corruption, and self-righteous acts which it so adamantly espoused against.

As one living in the US, it hasn't been "giddying" but the "suspense, drama and comedy" has definitely been all in. Might I also add, for those who are "people of color" it may have also been a "horror and murder," which is most devastating to us watching.

...and most American people don't read, research, or remember news from the prior month. Just yesterday, I was having a conversation with a professional acquaintance who relayed a conversation that was had with a male individual concerning why he was voting for Trump. His friend told him Trump promised he was going to provide jobs for the unemployed. That's it!  Talk about "mob mentality?!"

The election is not over yet, but it appears Biden will win, despite the threats and other acts to de-legitimize the election by the current president. This would be welcome news, because Joe Biden is a uniter, respecting all Americans, and known for reaching across the aisle. He is honest, believes in fairness, and respects science and experts. This is what we need and should expect in a president. It's disturbing that after the chaos and divisiveness of the past 4 years the race is even this close.

Biden will have his work cut out for him - we have a raging pandemic that must be addressed by listening to the science, and implementing a national strategy. We must rejoin the Paris climate accord and begin to address global warming - the largest existential threat facing the planet. And of course we must begin to address the economic disparities and systemic racism in our own backyard.

Election is still running, while everyone knows no Biden nor Trump would do any good to the world or US.

I still believe Trump will win because racism (apparently / usually) wins!

Strange Trump actually increased his popular vote over 2016.  Perhaps what you are subliminally suggesting is half the American population is stupid!  Whatever happens Biden will be a lame duck president with no control in the Senate so he will be totally dysfunctional for at least 2 years.   After that we will see.  I predict he won't stand the course-but then I may be wrong.

A couple of posters are saying or implying that a President Biden will be a lame duck from the start.

This indicates misconceptions about U.S. presidential power.

A president is not a lame duck merely because his party does not control both houses of Congress (still not a decided issue in the 2020 cycle). 

If a President Biden can put science to work and, from his revered platform, can persuade most individuals to do the right things to get the country to defeat covid, he will not be doing so as a lame duck.

If he reverses Trump's war on the environment and puts the USA back into the international climate accords, that's not a lame duck.

If he uses his political capital to get a multi-billion dollar infrastructure program going and brings employment and GDP back to pre-covid levels, that's not the work of a lame duck.

When he appoints serious-minded, honest, experienced men and women to his cabinet and senior positions in dozens of federal agencies, including Homeland Security, the State Department, the Justice Department and the national security staff, that's not a lame duck.

When he appoints justices to the Supreme Court and appoints hundreds of federal judges, that's not a lame duck.

When he conducts foreign policy and acts as commander of the armed forces, that's not a lame duck.

When he issues executive orders, or cancels the EO's of his misguided predecessor, that's not a lame duck.

When he restores faith in the integrity of the national government both at home and in foreign countries, correcting the reputational damage caused by the USA's worst-ever leader, that is not a lame duck.

cccmedia

[Post under review]

I always enjoy reading comments from non-Americans who think they really know the American political system.