Protests a blow to Trump, but may still beat Biden: experts
While the anti-racism protests continue to spread in the US, polls for the 2020 presidential election has cast a shadow on President Donald Trump as he trails his presumptive opponent former vice president Joe Biden in more than 40 national polls.
Based on the results, some Chinese experts predict a defeat for Trump, but others noted that uncertainty still exists, given Trump’s base and his vigorous reactions to the worsening street violence, which may win him more support later from people affected by the violence.
Biden led in every single one of those more than 40 national polls in May, a CNN analysis on May 31 said.
The ongoing US unrests plus the Trump administration’s failure to cope with COVID-19 epidemic will certainly be a blow to Trump, but the impact of the fallout from these crises on the election remains to be seen, experts noted.
The damage caused by the rioters to buildings and businesses has interrupted the country’s economic resumption plan, and the great economic loss from the coronavirus outbreak would worsen if the unrest continues, which is bad news for Trump, because a thriving economy has always been his political asset, said Sun Chenghao, assistant research fellow at the Institute of American Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.
While Trump repeatedly called for harsh measures against protesters, Biden’s reaction is the opposite.
Biden visited a protest site on Monday in Delaware and talked to the protesters there. He promised on social media that he would lead the conversation in the confrontation and listen to people’s appeals if he wins.
Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai, doubts if the poll results would turn into votes, especially in swing states.
Trump supporters have an extremely high recognition of him, who may remain silent in the polls but are in favor of Trump deep inside, Xin told the Global Times.
If the unrest intensifies and more voters’ personal interests are infected, they may lose patience, which could give Trump an opportunity as Trump advocates tougher actions against protesters, Xin noted.
Following the rapid spread of the riots, the risk of social disturbance will stimulate the “silent majority” of American voters to choose the leader who represents order, and prompt white and Asian voters to resist the anti-racial discrimination movement, said Mei Xinyu, a research fellow at the Ministry of Commerce’s Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
Asian people prefer an ordered and stable society, analysts noted.