Whoever becomes US President, Trump's 'America First' agenda wins

It has perhaps never been such as closely contested US elections as this one between incumbent President and Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

Contrary to the general notion, there is no clear winner yet in the US Presidential elections. The race is still on, and it’s a close one. A chunk of postal ballot remained uncounted even after three days. Biden has, however, won the popular vote but that does not make him President. Biden has bagged 264 electoral votes and Trump, 214.

While Biden is inching towards the finishing point, none can say for sure who will finally make it.

In 2016, former US Senator Hillary Clinton, who was the Democratic nominee won the popular vote. However, Trump earned a large number of electoral votes—the deciding factor.

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Many analysts refrained from commenting on the future policies of the US. “I will not comment at this point, I would wait for the final result,” said a former foreign secretary.

However, Sanjaya Baru, distinguished fellow, United Service Institution of India and the Institute of Defence Studies & Analysis, said that Biden is expected to win though the margin will be narrow.

An analyst pointed out that technically speaking Trump could once again contest the 2024 Presidential elections if he loses this time. According to the US Constitution, “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

As the US and the rest of the world keenly watch the closely fought elections, most predictions indicated a relatively easy win for Biden.

Trump has always found himself amid controversy. His handling of the coronavirus pandemic too has been widely criticized.

The fact that the battle is such a close one underscores Trump’s popularity. Also, his America First policy indeed has takers—something that the pundits including many in the media did not take into account.

“Beyond the optics, the Trump Americans, who are the new political base, will still shape American policy irrespective of who the president is,” Vijay Gokhale, former foreign secretary, in his column titled <em>‘The Winner is America First</em>,’ published in the Indian Express said.

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