COVID-19 has made it clear that the presidential race is between Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump – they just might not be running against each other in the general election. Donald Trump is showing strong leadership for what might be the first time in his presidency, and he is meaningfully addressing problems caused by the coronavirus. His detractors are struggling to make him look bad here as centrist Democrats call for more means testing and attempt to add things to coronavirus bills that are not related. In many ways, they’re economically right of the Republicans at this time. This is not to say that Donald Trump’s stimulus package doesn’t have flaws. There are countless flaws that will hit the working class hardest, but the one leading the charge to patch those holes isn’t frontrunner Joseph Biden, it’s Bernie Sanders. His progressive ideas are outclassing both his rivals within the party and the Republicans. It’s no wonder the new rallying cry of his supporters is “reality endorses Bernie Sanders,” as this virus is threatening housing security, job security and our very lives.
Bernie Sanders helped secure a better relief deal for workers and brought Republicans to task for their emphasis on big businesses relief instead of helping low income workers, while shifting his massive network of donors toward fundraising for coronavirus relief and doing consistent fireside chats to keep his voters informed. Bernie Sanders is quickly becoming the most outspoken and important progressive voice in the fight for relief. Meanwhile, Joe Biden hides and lets his surrogates do the talking for him, hoping that they alone can continue to steer the ship toward a Biden victory in the general. It has been made increasingly clear that Joe Biden isn’t fit for crisis.
The DNC will likely still continue to rally around Joe Biden as this election continues, despite all the scandals pointing toward voter suppression of minority communities in major states like Texas, refusal to reschedule primaries (and threats of lost delegates if states do reschedule), Biden’s unpopularity with the youth and the recent allegations of sexual assault raised against him by a former staffer (that have been completely ignored by CNN, MSNBC and The New York Times). This is a losing plan in the general against Donald Trump.
Trump’s response may be slow and clumsy compared to other leaders of the developed world, but he’s doing a significantly better job of running the country during this crisis than most of his detractors expected. The way Trump handles this will make or break this election for him. It will hand a second term to him if the nominee is Joe Biden, who is doing next to nothing for the average voter at this time. Or, it will be somewhere that Sanders can beat him by calling out the flaws in the relief plan that he’s talking about now. The coronavirus only helps those who approach politics with big visions and sweeping plans. “Return to normal,” which is quickly becoming the Biden camp’s “Make America Great Again,” just doesn’t sell when normal has been exposed as ineffective.
All of Bernie’s “pie in the sky” plans that Joe Biden and his allies love to dismiss as impossible are working around the world and going into overdrive to combat the coronavirus. South Korea, which had its first confirmed case on the very same day as the United States, has been able to contain the spread because of its universal healthcare system and more comprehensive bailouts for working families. So maybe it’s time to drop the act and admit we can catch up with the rest of the developed world and actually look out for our sick and needy. Maybe it’s time we elect Bernie Sanders. Whether he wins or loses, time will vindicate the Sanders campaign and prove that he was what we needed right now. He’s been fighting for the American people his whole life, and it’s not time to give up on him yet.
Robert Kinnaird is a junior majoring in global studies and journalism.
