If Americans Had A Broader, Global Perspective, Would This Election Be Close?

We all know we had a pandemic a few years ago, there were long economic shutdowns as a result of that, and it has been difficult to get the wheels and cogs of industry rolling again. Oddly enough, because of how much we lack broader perspective and blame many of the problems in our lives on the federal government and specifically the people in power at the moment, many — or most — people look at these challenges as national issues and think the US is doing worse than it should be in recovering from those problems. However, the US has actually led the way in recovering more quickly from COVID than most places.

I noticed the following chart last night on economic recovery among the G7:

As you can see there, the US has recovered faster than every other country in the G7, notably faster. Now, of course, there are multiple reasons for that and some relate to the work of the US president while others do not. Generally speaking, though, having a broad perspective, there’s a strong case here that Biden’s approach to recovery has been more effective than others’.

I’ve been following the effects of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law since they passed, and the enormous number of projects and programs coming out of these has been like a constantly flowing waterfall. The former is the biggest “reshoring” legislation in American history — by far — and is creating countless jobs and a huge boost to the economy. Simplistically, it may just look like subsidies for clean energy, electric vehicles, and some other industries. But it’s much more than that. After decades of complaining about offshoring of US jobs, one would think that much of the populace would notice if we were specifically trying to reverse that and reshoring thousands of jobs. We are creating tens of thousands of jobs in the solar industry, the EV industry, and other industries due to a manufacturing and infrastructure revival.

Other places, like the European Union, have actually lost factories and lost manufacturing jobs because it suddenly became more beneficial for companies to go to the US.

Chinese EV tariffs may be a tad (or very) unfair, and excluding EVs from subsidies if they use Chinese battery materials, may seem like a step or two too far. However, it’s evident that more EV battery cell factories, more EV battery pack factories, and more lithium mining and processing projects are under development thanks to these policies. Joe Biden’s policies may be boring to most people, but they are having significant impacts raising awareness.

Overall, despite all the various global pressures and all the tasks on the president’s desk, the Biden–Harris administration — supported greatly by Democrats in Congress when they controlled Congress for two years — has done tremendous work improving the US economy, overcoming hyperinflation that resulted from the pandemic, and outcompeting other nations for manufacturing jobs. In other words, the US has led economically under Biden’s leadership. Many Americans want to criticize Biden, Harris, and Democrats for our economy not being perfect, but the point is that they’ve improved the economy more than anyone else — and largely through support for clean renewable energy and electric vehicles.

But that’s just part of my point. I think anyone who’s lived abroad in the past decade or knows people abroad knows that Donald Trump is considered a clown in other countries. Him being president often made the US a laughing stock. And we’re in that place again with him having a solid chance of getting back to the White House. Former Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull, a leader of the largest centre-right party in Oz, was recently on TV talking about Trump, and he highlighted how much the former president is so ridiculous in his subservience and adoration toward Putin. Here’s the clip:

Malcolm Turnbull, Former Prime Minister of Australia:

“When you see Trump with Putin… he’s like the 12-year old boy that goes to high school and meets the captain of the football team. ‘My hero!’ It’s really creepy.”

The world didn’t respect Trump. Our allies mocked him and… pic.twitter.com/zQqP1e32P8

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) September 19, 2024

My wife pointed out to me that funny videos of Trump’s blurted out comments that “they’re eating the cats and dogs” during the debate with Kamala Harris were being spread across Eastern Europe.

Wow, what a song… 👍🏻

"They're eating the dogs"
"They're eating the cats"
"They're eating the pets"

"…of the people that live there" https://t.co/oUbsbi6TP4 pic.twitter.com/YIvL4oayEd

— Bart L. Vink (@bartlvink) September 13, 2024

Of course, the story about that which VP JD Vance led the way in spreading has been debunked. A lady whose cat was missing thought the Haitian neighbors may have taken the cat and eaten it. A police report was filed. A couple days later, the cat was found in the basement. No one had taken it, and certainly not eaten it. But this is a key topic Trump saw fit to focus on during his giant national debate with Kamala Harris.

From a global perspective, this coming election should be a landslide. People outside the US can see how the US has done better under Biden and is more respectable again, and can see how Harris would carry that torch forward. If more Americans could see beyond the narrow perspective that inflation and the economy were rough after the COVID pandemic, and could see from a broader perspective how the US has dug itself out of that better than most, maybe the election would be a landslide.

Inflation has been beaten.

Unemployment is at modern lows.

The stock market is at record highs.

Crime has plummeted.

Border crossings are at lowest point in years.

More Americans have health coverage today than ever before. pic.twitter.com/T5FD3dcGRQ

— Sibylle (@AHaschi) September 19, 2024