2020 US election: ‘Trump has done what he said he would do for business’

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Amy fazackerley

Like many Americans, Amy Fazackerley is concerned about the economy. The 49-year-old runs a small business near Washington, DC in Virginia that sells rugs that are rolled into bags, a product she invented in response to her children’s Lego disaster, and sees family businesses like hers closing down. every day.

“It breaks my heart,” he says. “The government has to step up.”

But Ms. Fazackerley’s concerns are not changing her vote. The Republican backed Trump in 2016 and will vote for him again, thanks to his record of promoting small businesses and taking on China over the theft of intellectual property, a key issue for her business, which faces a constant battle against counterfeit products.

“In fact, he has done what he said he was going to do,” he says.

‘Pre-existing partisan lens’

Trump may have taken a hit after testing positive for coronavirus last week, temporarily halting his campaign while he self-isolates.

But when it comes to the economy at least, polls show approval of Trump’s handling of the issue has held up, despite the turmoil caused by the pandemic, which left more than 10 million people out of work and sparked an estimated 100,000 small businesses. to close forever.

Although voters generally rank the economy as a top concern and general opinions have soured dramatically, opinions on the issue are closely related to whether a person identifies as a Democrat or a Republican.

“The economy is very important, but what we are finding is that voters are interpreting the economic situation through a pre-existing partisan lens,” says Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which regularly polls people. the nation.

He says that has protected the president from the drag that might be expected in a more typical election, when voters often blame the person and party in power for a recession.

“Compared to 2016 and indeed compared to many other elections before this one, the vast majority of the electorate was already locked up before the campaign started and economic conditions changed, political trials, all of those things have very little impact”.

‘Remain the leader’

That’s good news for President Trump, who has turned his record for tax cuts, cutting labor and environmental regulations and defending American businesses against foreign competitors into a key calling card for voters.

He captured the White House in 2016 with the support of small business owners like Fazackerley, who make up a key constituency in America that tends to be conservative and outweigh their weight when it comes to turnout at the polls.

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Reuters

“Taxes are huge for small businesses, regulations are another big problem. Those are probably our two most important things,” says Lana Pol, 64, who runs five businesses in Iowa, including a trucking company and a company. storage. “When it comes to those things, President Trump is still the leader.”

Pol, a Republican, supported Trump in 2016 and plans to vote for him again. He says he rates the current economy an “eight out of 10” and cites the president’s accomplishments, such as the 2017 tax cuts, which saved his businesses about $ 40,000 last year.

“I’ve definitely been listening and seeing everything,” she says. “But I can’t think of anything that really convinces me.”

‘Divided nation’

The resilience of Trump’s approval ratings on economic issues has frustrated Democrats and raised concerns that his candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, has not done enough to tie his opponent to economic collapse.

But the obviousness in American politics that the fate of a sitting president is tied to the state of the economy is simply not confirmed, says Graham Wilson, a professor of political science at Boston University, noting that party identity tends to be the main driver of votes.

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Issues beyond the economy are driving this year’s elections, he adds.

“This is an extremely divided nation,” he says. “There are really antagonistic and deeply felt divisions that go beyond the performance of the administration and the performance of the economy to how you think about this country, what it represents and the component of what Americanism does.”

While Trump has honed his economic tone, he has also tried to excite his supporters by focusing on issues like guns and law and order.

Meanwhile, Biden has focused his campaign on Trump’s failures as a leader and his threat to democratic norms. And he faces pressure from the left to speak out more boldly when it comes to policing and racial justice issues, which have sparked massive protests this year.

‘A strange time’

That’s one area in which Ronnie Slone, the owner of a consulting company in Louisiana that provides staff training and development, says he’s not satisfied with both candidates.

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Ronnie slone

Slone, who endorsed Trump in 2016 as a breath of “fresh air,” says his support has been shaken by the president’s rhetoric, especially on racial issues.

But he remains undecided, unconvinced that Biden offers real change, and points to little progress in closing racial wealth gaps during the many decades that Biden served in government.

“For small businesses, we need a pro-small business leader and we need a person who takes notice of the fact that fairness is extremely important to people of color and people of color in business,” he says. “I haven’t heard the Biden-Harris campaign tell me anything other than what I’ve seen in a few years.”

While he continues to support the president when it comes to economic policies, Slone says he is not sure that those issues, which often guide his elections, are top of mind when voting this year.

“It’s a strange moment and we all know it,” he says. “The era, world events, cultural events, all of those things weigh heavily.”

‘Incite the people’

Raymond Searles, longtime owner of a small coffee shop in eastern Delaware, is a longtime Republican who backed Trump in 2016, drawn in part by his record as a businessman and has never voted for Biden. although the candidate represented his home state in Congress for more than 30 years.

But for the first time in November, the 63-year-old plans to vote for Biden.

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Ray Searles

Searles says his regret over his 2016 vote was formed almost immediately, when Trump’s outrage over reports of small crowds at his swearing-in as president overshadowed the inauguration.

And while the pandemic has forced Searles to shut down his café and receive unemployment benefits for a brief period, he says it is his horror at Trump’s own treatment, the appointment of people with dubious credentials, and divisive rhetoric that has overcome his traditional republican loyalties.

“The way you are inciting people is just unacceptable to me,” he says.

“I don’t see any other option. It’s what’s good for America and what’s good for future generations, or Trump.”