No matter who wins in November, the American electorate is likely to be more skeptical and suspicious of China from here on out. A year ago, Biden sounded like the most pro-China voice among all the Democratic candidates. Now Biden runs ads insisting he would be tougher on China than Trump is.
Support for free trade in general might be increasing, but it is difficult to envision a scenario where Americans want greater economic ties with China.
A President Biden would no doubt seek to pass legislation to change the American immigration system. But defunding or abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement isn’t going to happen, nor is decriminalizing crossing the U.S. border — and if the Biden administration did push for those changes, Democrats would face a furious pushback in the 2022 midterms. Biden probably wouldn’t do much to create additional border fencing, but he felt the need to promise to “invest in better technology coupled with privacy protections at the border, both at and between ports of entry, including cameras, sensors, large-scale x-ray machines, and fixed towers.”
And while populism as a political force can be nebulous, it is hard to believe that a Biden election would suddenly restore public faith in society’s leaders.
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