Trump tweets New Year’s greeting to his many enemies
Donald Trump sent New Year's greetings to his "many enemies" in a backhanded tweet on Saturday in which he gloated…
The race to the White House has made all 51 states in the United States anxious to see if the Democrats are able to keep the Oval Office or after eight years the Republicans are able to wrest it from them.
As bickering campaigns of Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic contender Hillary Clinton approach judgment day, the world waits to see whom Barack Obama will pass on the mantle.
People knew Republican Donald Trump before he ran for the US presidential elections as a billionaire real estate mogul and a reality TV star. The hustings showed that he had qualities of a politician.
Trump fought against odds, especially after his lewd comments on women were widely aired and taken advantage of by Clinton. The latter too found herself embroiled in controversies, with the ghost of her emails from private server coming to haunt her in the last stage of the campaign.
The Republicans faced defeat in the last two elections and many claimed that Trump was the best chance for them to remain formidable in US politics, which has seen Blacks, Hispanics and the Asians play an increasingly crucial role in deciding the winner.
Trump’s appeal to the Whites was obvious but many poll observers felt he missed out on addressing the African-Americans and the Hispanic communities.
Trump’s comment on how to deal with immigration received a mixed reaction from the Whites and the Hispanics and Orients: “I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.” It surely is not a great way to sway the non-White voters.”
Trump’s constant rant regarding the email scandal of Hillary Clinton could have acted as a Stringer missile, but somehow he had lost his way and got caught up with one of the fiercest attack from the Clinton campaign.
Meanwhile, Clinton has a great list of achievements that make her a well respected politician in the United States. Her record as the Secretary of State under the Obama administration, however, came under the scanner with the FBI deciding to reopen the case of her handling of confidential emails.
Yet, she was chosen as the best shot by the Democrat to retain presidency.
Recent poll predictions suggest that Clinton has an edge but there are key battleground states that can swing the pendulum in favor of either Trump or Clinton.
Iowa
In the 2012 US elections, Barack Obama was able to edge past his Republican competitor Mitt Romney. In 2016 Democratic caucus saw a close race in which Hillary Clinton was able to edge past her fellow GOP contender Bernie Sanders.
With a nail-biter predicted ahead, Iowa may play a role in Clinton’s favour. Trump winning in Iowa may be no short of a miracle. He finished behind Ted Cruz in the Republican caucus.
Florida
In the 2012 elections, this was one of the critical states that made Obama win his re-election.
During the Florida primaries, both Clinton and Trump managed to win their respective caucuses.
A distinguishing feature of this state is that during the Bush years it remained Red but with the advent of Obama the state changed to Blue.
Past trends may suggest that the elections would be closest fought in Florida but many experts feel that Clinton might be able to brush off Trump and keep the state blue.
New Hampshire
This might have been a state where Obama managed to flail the Democrat flag in 2008 but quickly lost ground in one of the key county that changed its allegiance to the Mitt Romney.
The Democratic Caucus saw Clinton lose against Bernie Sanders but with him out of the race she had to work hard to get Sanders supporters on board.
Trump had managed to win the Republican Caucus, so he has fewer things to worry about.
The state can move either way and could ruin chances for Clinton to win the state and chances are that the state may choose Red.
North Carolina
In 2008, Obama had created history when he was able to wrest the state from the Republican camp for the first time after former President Jimmy Carter. However, in 2012, Romney managed to bring the state back into the Republican camp. With Trump unable to garner support from the African-Americans, he still has a chance with White voters. The recent outrage in North Carolina regarding law enforcement’s treatment of the Black community might not go in favor of the Democrats. The sole hope with which the Democrats can re-take the state from the Republicans is through a coalition of the non-White voters.
This race might be an interesting one to watch. Trump having lost the base in the state that Romney managed to win in 2012 might see itself painting Blue.
– Udit Sharma
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