Election 2020 presents two distinct candidates

Donald+Trump+and+Joe+Biden+at+the+Sept.+29+2020+presidential+debate+

photo courtesy of Creative Commons

Donald Trump and Joe Biden at the Sept. 29 2020 presidential debate

Jack Kielmeyer, editor

As Nov. 3 draws ever closer voters are still undecided of who America’s next president should be. As the two candidates are polar opposites of each other,  America is split between the two. 

The Democratic party favoring Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, versus the Republican party gunning for four more years of the current sitting president and vice president, Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Again, the two have very different stances on current issues. 

Freshman at Capital University, and previous editor for The Scribe Nathan Gibbs said, “Many progressives I know especially feel this way, as we are once again having to make what seems like an impossible choice, between a corrupt fascist and a pandering politician, we feel like whoever we pick, we still won’t be benefiting from it.”

As the U.S. is in the midst of a pandemic, response to the virus and health care is a big issue on everyone’s minds. Senior, Kerrigan Morrison said, “Healthcare is an important issue because for the people who have a lot of health problems and aren’t able to get treatment or afford it is unfair considering some can’t control it.”

According to  Biden campaign’s website, Biden’s response to the pandemic is to listen to science, have a more transparent and trustworthy government again, and ensure that all public health decisions are informed decisions made by health professionals. 

On the Biden campaign website he has a seven-point plan posted; his plan is to ensure all Americans have access to reliable free testing as well as vaccines, provide consistent national guidelines, institute national mask guidelines, protect those at risk, and rebuild defenses to this disease.  

The Biden campaign’s proposed policy includes fixing many of the Trump administration’s policies and decisions that they believe have not been enough, like giving everyone access to free and reliable testing, distributing more personal protective equipment (PPE), and rebuilding the defenses we have in place to protect from threats like this virus. Biden has been very pro mask and shutting down of cities to help combat the virus. 

The Biden Harris campaign’s health care plan is to build on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The Biden Harris campaign website states, “[b]ecause of Obamacare, over 100 million people no longer have to worry that an insurance company will deny coverage or charge higher premiums just because they have a pre-existing condition.”

In contrast, President Trump plans on drastically changing Obamacare if he is unable to repeal it. Throughout his presidency, President Trump has opposed Obamacare, and he repealed the Individual Mandate, which according to his campaign website, “forced people to buy expensive insurance and taxed those who couldn’t afford it.” 

He also signed a six year extension of the Children’s Healthcare Insurance Program to fund healthcare for 9 million, the CHIP program provides insurance and healthcare coverage for children.

The Trump administration is using operation “Warp Speed” to produce 300 million doses of safe and effective vaccines, according to an article titled “President Trump Is Leading a Once-in-a-Generation Effort to Ensure Americans Have Access to a COVID-19 Vaccine” by the whitehouse.gov.

President Trump also announced a partnership with CVS and Walgreens to have no out of pocket cost for seniors and workers in long term care facilities for a vaccine. Other than trying to find and mass produce a vaccine the Trump administration does not have a long term plan to combat the coronavirus. The Trump administration has also been anti mask, back in April President Trump stressed the fact that masks were “Voluntary.” 

According to an article done by NPR entitled, “Pandemic And Protests Spark Record Gun Sales” it was reported that there had been 300 million gun sales since the start of the pandemic. The Second Amendment and gun rights have been an important highlight by mass shootings in recent years and protests or riots; and with an increase in gun sales, it is becoming more important than ever. 

President Trump’s stance on the second amendment was announced in his first campaign. It is very simply put, “So long as I am President, I will always protect your Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.” His campaign also believes that gun and magazine bans are “a total failure.”

The Biden Harris campaign has tighter regulations when it comes to gun regulations, on their website it is stated that “As president, Biden will pursue constitutional, common-sense gun safety policies.” The Biden campaign plans to hold the gun manufacturers responsible and have a tighter on high capacity magazines and assault weapons. As well as have tighter regulations on who can buy guns and how many you can own.