With the 2020 presidential election approaching, BYU–Hawaii students discussed why they do or do not support the presidential candidates and their thoughts on voting for third-party candidates.
On Aug. 18, the Democratic Party formally nominated former vice president Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, according to AP. Kamala Harris, a California senator, will be Biden’s running mate and is the first Black and first South Asian American woman to be on a major party ticket.
Running as the Republican candidate will be U.S. President Donald Trump who was formally nominated by the Republican Party on Aug. 24 during the Republican National Convention. Running with Trump will be Mike Pence, the U.S. vice president.
Donald Trump
On Trump’s website promiseskept.com, it stated while president, he has “appointed conservative justices to our federal courts, provided the largest tax cuts for working-class families in American history, has ISIS on the run and is committed to a safe and secure nation.”
The site says Trump has also pushed for stricter immigration laws and renegotiating foreign trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Clarissa Tekeiaki, a BYUH alumna, shared she doesn’t “like everything about Donald Trump, especially his character, but I really strongly support him because of his policies.
“The main thing that’s most important to me that I can see is the deregulation of the economy and the free market system. That creates jobs and wealth and prosperity for all Americans.”
Tekeiaki added she is anti-abortion and finds Trump’s stance on abortion aligns with her beliefs.
According to AP, Trump became the first sitting president to speak at the March for Life, an annual rally that protests abortion and its legalization.
Elias Hopkin, a senior from Ohio majoring in TESOL, said he believes Trump is divisive, so he does not support him.
“He focuses his messages on his base and seems willing to throw everyone else away,” Hopkin said. “Even though there are a lot of other people. I also don’t like how he doesn’t admit when he makes mistakes, even when it’s very clear.”
Fahina Lauti, a sophomore from California studying political science, said seeing how Trump has handled coronavirus and his stance on immigration are some reasons why she won’t be voting for him.
“I do feel Trump failed to prepare us for the coronavirus, even though health officials did warn him before it even reached the U.S.,” Lauti said.
Joe Biden
According to joebiden.com, Biden’s vision for the presidency is to rebuild the middle class, show respected leadership on the global stage and ensure American democracy includes everyone.
Biden also laid out his plans to respond to COVID-19 if elected. According to his site, his plan includes a public health response such as widespread testing, developing a vaccine and an economic response like helping small businesses.
Lauti shared that while a part of why she supports Biden is Trump, she appreciates Biden’s stance on climate change and his intention to bring the United States back into the Paris Climate Agreement.
On June 1, 2017, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement during a briefing at the White House because he said it put a financial and environmental burden on America that was not required of other nations. The agreement was part of a global effort within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to strengthen the worlds’ response towards climate change, according to the United Nation's climate change website.
“I support Joe Biden in his plans to reduce emissions, unlike Trump, who believes it is a hoax, which, in my personal opinion, and with scientific evidence, is not true.”
Lauti added, if elected, she hopes Biden could bring a fresh perspective to the presidency. “I think Joe Biden will definitely bring new ideas to the table. I think it would be good for America to switch things up, especially after going through this hard pandemic.”
Hopkin said Biden is a politician who is motivated by getting elected and just supports what will get him votes.
“He doesn’t really seem to stand for things as a general set of values, and he’ll support whatever he thinks will get people to vote for him. I don’t particularly care for career politicians, because they often care more about getting elected than they care about actually making things better.”
Tekeiaki said one reason she doesn’t support Biden is his stance on abortion. “He’s really following this leftist ideology that is really pro-abortion, and that really concerns me,” Tekeiaki expressed.
Kelly Martinez, a senior from Florida studying cultural anthropology, shared she believes Biden is disconnected from the American people and is a “watered-down version of Trump.”
Voting third-party
Hopkin shared he chooses to support Jade Simmons, an independent party candidate, because he dislikes both major party candidates. Hopkin said he came across Simmons through a Facebook ad and found many of her values align with his.
“The whole thing with her campaign is we need to stop taking sides and saying there’s us versus them, and these people are one side or the other.
“Everyone in the country should be able to be part of the solution and make things better.”
Another thing that caused him to support Simmons is her strong Christian values of loving and respecting others no matter their beliefs.
Hopkins shared he is choosing to support a third-party because he dislikes the idea of voting against someone, for example, voting for Biden because you dislike Trump or vice versa.
“I don’t like that because it gets mediocre politicians, and it reinforces a two-party system and keeps newcomers out of politics.
“The lack of good choices is often strengthened because people are willing to settle for someone ‘meh’ to avoid someone they view is just unacceptable.”
Martinez said while she doesn’t support Biden or Trump, she doesn’t intend to vote third-party because of the slim chance of a third-party candidate getting elected president.
“It’s always been Republican versus Democrat, and I know there are other options and maybe give them a chance. But I did that with the 2016 election. I voted for Gary Johnson, and he didn’t win.
“If it has to be between one of the two people, I’ll choose the lesser evil.”
