#2020WCA: What the U.S. Elections Mean for the Americas
#2020WCA: What the U.S. Elections Mean for the Americas
A panel of senior political observers from AEI, Bloomberg News, CNN, and The New Yorker discussed the 2020 U.S. election and its implications for democracy.
Panelists:
- Michael Barone, Senior Political Analyst, American Enterprise Institute
- Susan Glasser, Staff Writer, The New Yorker
- Frida Ghitis, World Affairs Commentator and Columnist, CNN Opinion, The Washington Post, World Politics Review
- Shery Ahn, Anchor, Bloomberg TV (moderator)
- Roger Noriega, former Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. State Department (introduction)
- Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Americas Society/Council of the Americas (host)
Seven days after U.S. 2020 Election Day, the results aren’t “past tense yet,” said Susan Glasser at a 2020 Washington Conference on the Americas panel. Both she and Frida Ghitis said that if, when, and how Republicans continue to back President Donald Trump’s efforts to call into question the results of the vote, which networks called for Democrat Joe Biden, has implications for U.S. democracy. “The question is if the Republican Party is lining up so solidly behind Trump because they intend to become obstacles to any efforts by Biden to bring some sort of reconciliation … or whether they’re doing this to try and energize the base in Georgia” where two Senate runoff races in January will determine which party has control of that body in the next legislative session, noted Ghitis. Glasser also pointed out that the outgoing president’s labeling of journalists of “enemies of the people” reminded her of her time living in the former Soviet Union.
Fielding a question from the audience, moderator Shery Ahn asked if a Biden administration might engage in dialogue with Nicolás Maduro. Ghitis responded to say that Biden is aware that the de facto Venezuelan leader uses dialogue as a means to forestall progress. Michael Barone noted that migration from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America went down to net zero after the 2008 recession and has not resumed since.
- Watch the #2020WCA conversation with Senator Ben Cardin on changing hemispheric relations.
- Watch the conference's closing concert by Mariela Condo.
The session was the final event of the 2020 virtual series. Learn more about the Washington Conference on the Americas signature program.