vicepresidentjoebiden

The Associated Press and CNN have announced Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States as he surpassed the 270 electoral votes, the number required to win.

Why it matters

The 78-year-old will be the oldest president of the United States, but President Donald Trump says the election is far from over as he challenges the election in court amid allegations of election fraud.

What Joe Biden says

• Biden in a press statement on Saturday stated, “I am honored and humbled by the trust the American people have placed in me and in Vice President-elect Harris.”
• He has campaigned as a unifier as the USA appears divided over race and the handling of the coronavirus. He said, “The voters made it clear, they want the country to come together and not pull apart.”

What Donald Trump says

• Trump indicated that he will not concede as he issued a statement saying, “The simple fact is this election is far from over.”

Key Points

• Kamala Harris as vice president is expected to be the first black woman in that role.
• Donald Trump was at a golf club when the news broke that Biden was the projected winner.
• Biden is expected to give a victory speech tonight at 8 pm, as president-elect.
• Biden is coming in as president during COVID-19 and economic challenges.
• Election results are recorded as close as Trump challenges votes in Wisconsin, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
• Trump is arguing discrepancies in vote counts, access to votes and fraud.

Featured image: thenation.com

The world is watching the U.S presidential race. The Bahamas too, is keeping a close eye on the 2020 elections.

We care about who will win the election set for Tuesday because the next president impacts the Bahamas’ relationship with the world’s ‘superpower’ and it affects our economy.

President Donald Trump represents a different type of leader, who is unorthodox and is not considered a ‘politician.’

And we’ve been introduced to Joe Biden as President Barak Obama’s vice president, described as a moderate politician but fast becoming a leftist, based on some people’s opinion.

The USA’s economic influence on the Bahamas

The United States provides the Bahamas with 80% of its tourism market, greatly influencing the economy of this small island nation where the sector is our primary industry. The millions of tourists that visit the Bahamas from the United States each year, help with the circulation of the American dollar into our economy.  And, jobs in the Bahamas are created from our dependency on tourism.

But COVID-19 has shutdown our tourism market as countries like the US are lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. The fewer people travel from the U.S.A, the greater the negative impact on our economy.

Both presidential candidates have a different perspective on the economy and the handling of the virus in the United States.

President Trump’s loose approach invites the reopening of the country and the end to lockdowns against the advice of the CDC and health officials. He predicts that the economy will rebound and touts that a vaccine will soon be available.

On the other hand, Vice President Biden has cautioned against reopening the US. He says if elected as president, he will follow the advice of health officials advising against reopening. In fact, Biden said the US economy cannot recover until the virus is contained.

The decision made by the next President of the United States directly affects the Bahamas, one way or another.

On November 2nd, the Bahamas moved forward with reopening to tourists, hoping that more tourists will visit sooner and regrow the economy.