We are rapidly approaching the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. What’s already been an eventful, heated, controversial, and at times militant last few years politically in the U.S. is only going to intensify.
Donald Trump is facing tremendous pressure from a media establishment that despises him and immediately endorsed the now initiated impeachment proceedings against him. Impeachment is likely to be voted for by the Democratic House of Representatives. But in the Republican controlled Senate, it is unlikely that the pro-impeachment forces will be able to convince Republican Senators to vote against their party’s nominee.
Trump is extremely popular with the GOP base, he has a 95% approval rating among right-wing American voters. Successful impeachment would further inflame tensions in the U.S., and some commentators have suggested that it could spark a full-blow civil war. While the U.S. economy is slowing, voters still see the President as the best positioned politician to handle jobs and growth. Tensions with China are growing worse by the day, and the Senate recently passed a bill which effectively endorses the intense protests in that part of China and supporting the cause of rioters. This blatant interference in internal Chinese affairs will be very poorly received by the Chinese. Some have suggested that the Sino-American relationship is rapidly approaching a point of no return and permanent damage.
The Democratic Party is undergoing an intense internal battle over who will be the nominee who faces off against the President. The present favourite is Joe Biden, but his star is waning. He has made numerous gaffes and mistakes and is losing momentum in the polls. Massachusetts Senator and Liberal firebrand Elizabeth Warren is doing well and has espoused an anti-plutocrat, populist message. Young up and comer Pete Buttigieg is surging but is an unknown commodity with poor name recognition. There is also the very real possibility that Hillary Clinton will try for a third run at the nomination. Either way, the U.S. will never be the same after the next election.