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Event Report

Ambassador Vishnu Prakash began his address by stating the importance of the US Presidential in South Asia and how the White House incumbent can determine a substantial part of geopolitics and economy in South Asia. He opened the session by putting some questions on the floor, which are as follows: Does the support from white republican women towards Trump remain the same as at the beginning of his term? Will Kamla Harris, an African-Indian woman, be the first lady Vice-President of the US? Will the American President accept the election results if they are too narrow? What are the critical issues for average voters? Will there be a change in the US stance towards South Asia and Indo Pacific? What are the expectations of Japan and China from the upcoming US President, and do they see any continuity or change in US foreign policy? Moreover, from their perspective, whether a republican or a democratic President more responsive to their concerns or priorities?

Dr. Andersen started his talk by mentioning the two issues he is going to discuss, which are: Firstly, the actual electoral process of the US Presidential election and secondly, how the electoral college functions, and who has more chances of winning the election. He explained that there are 538 electoral college votes for 50 states calculated by 435 in the House of Representatives and 100 senators and three from the district of Columbia, and any winner must have 270 seats to win. It also described the complexity of the US electoral process and shed some light on the debate regarding the existence of the Electoral College. He stated that the Covid pandemic, Trump's personality, and the animosity of the voters could play in favor of Joe Biden.

Dr. Dorsey remarked that the role of swing states would be significant in the upcoming election. He further explained that the election may get dragged to the Supreme court, and considerable controversy may arise. He also discussed why Trump is losing support from white republican women and other sections of the population. He added that changing the mindset of the sub-urban women is the reason behind the increasing number of swing states.

Prof. Jiadong explained the pandemic's impact and the destabilized economy's concurrent impact on the US Presidential election. He explained the role of the African-American minority in the upcoming election and spoke about the Chinese perspective on the US Presidential election.

Dr. Matsumoto explained the role of undecided voters and their power to overturn the elections. She spoke about the domestic factors affecting the election and remarked that the support of white males in the US towards Trump is a big help for him. She stated that the China factor would play an essential role in the election, and the candidates' stance on China will affect their chances. She explained the excellent relations between Trump and the Japanese government and its effect on the election. She also spoke about the Japanese perspective on the candidates and the US Presidential election.

Dr. Mednicoff stated that the importance of this Presidential election lies in the unusual nature of the Trump administration. Political authoritarianism, disrespect for experts, support for right-wing Americans, thinking of US foreign policy mostly in terms of military spending, and unusual political and financial ways make the Trump administration unusual, according to him. He spoke on how the US Foreign policy might be affected depending on the result of the US Presidential election. He concluded by mentioning the opportunities and challenges for Biden in the Middle East.

Prof. Owen stated that the media coverage of the US Presidential election is affecting the public, and some people are choosing to reduce their media diet. She explained that the depiction of issues in media is a manifestation of public opinion to some extent and also shed some light on the differential approaches both the campaigns breed. She also talked about the opinion of white suburban women from her perspective as she is a white suburban woman.

The panelists also discussed opinion polls and disparities among predictions and data regarding the election as part of their comments. The panelists commented on the future of US Foreign policy and the probability of change in the US Foreign policy depending on the future President of The United States.

Prepared by Nilanjan Adhikary, Intern at NIICE, Nepal