Glitter from the valentine is projected to last in the Oval Office for three more terms.
Photo by Jack Yang
Some candidates in the 2020 Democratic primary have reportedly decided to strategize against the current president by employing a method of political discourse centered on being the polar opposite of President Trump. United States political discourse often revolves around basic human rights issues and fundamental beliefs about how the country should be ran. Approaches to discussing these issues have varied throughout history, with prevailing strategies including friendly discussions, spirited debates, and in the most extreme cases, “yo mama” insult contests.
A peek into the preparation room of democratic candidate Tulsi Gabbard revealed practice strategies such as ‘When you say blank I feel blank’ form statements, and exhaustive lists of positive characteristics of both the president, and the aver- age voter from red states. The strategist from this campaign described this plan as the “sensible centrist approach.”
Current frontrunner Joe Biden said, “I think where we went wrong in 2016 was not showing our opponent enough civility. Instead, we made voters feel uncomfortable, and ultimately scared them away from coming in to vote on election day. We need to display a contrast to the president by treating him with respect. Back in my day, we worked together in government, and really what this country needs is to go back about 40 years. It’s time to buy a copy of ‘All You Need is Love’ for every teen to groove to on their record players.” Biden was given more time to speak, but his campaign manager quickly ushered him away, saying, “Good job, Joe. You did great. Go on vocal rest now. It will be best for everyone.”
Biden went on to discuss some of his plans for debate preparation should he be nominated for the general election. “I want to be ready to reform any attacks on myself or disenfranchised groups into respect for the president and people who voted for him. We need to earn those votes back saying that racist and sexist attacks are unacceptable will cause more harm than good. Why focus on affirming groups that already tend to vote for us when we can appease xenophobic remarks to try to win the votes of southern racists?”
Candidate and senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, expressed similar views. In a recent debate, she discussed wanting to represent “all of America.” In a post debate interview Klobuchar stated, “We need to be careful, and make sure we’re conservative enough in our policies, while showing kindness to everyone across the country, regardless of whether or not they think minorities should have access to basic human rights. That’s their personal belief, and not the realm of government.”
Meanwhile, throughout the primary process, and particularly during debates, the president has been noticed making commentary on Twitter. One tweet stated: “These people will take everything away from you, but I have your back, as long as you do things the white way.” White House spokespeople claimed that the president intended to say right, but the president repeated the exact line over eight consecutive rallies and speeches. His supporters continued to express the belief that “right and white sound pretty similar, so it was probably like, kind of an accident. Not the worst thing he’s ever done, am I right? Probably best to ignore.” Another tweet said: “Look at this stage. These people do not look like presidents, one is gay, some are women, and some aren’t white, and we definitely don’t want to do that again.”
