Election

Where They Stand

Photos provided by CNN, NBC Getty Images, and Flickr. Story compiled by Jonah Stout and Emma Kenner.

Health Care- According to the Trump reelection website, Trump “has worked to improve access to affordable quality health care.” Trump repealed the individual mandate which required people to buy insurance. He signed a six year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The administration aims to cover all pre-existing conditions, protect social security, and protect healthcare for veterans. 

Climate Change- Donald Trump’s campaign website says that “President Trump has approved the infrastructure and provided the resources needed to unleash oil and gas production in the U.S. The administration approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, supporting an estimated total of 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in wages. President Trump rescinded President Obama’s costly Clean Power Plan and instead has proposed the Affordable Clean Energy Rule. In addition to the Clean Power Plan, the Trump administration has rescinded many costly Obama-Era regulations.”

Abortion- Donald Trump cut funding for planned parenthood. He reinstated and expanded the ban on American tax money paying for abortion in foreign countries. He also has consistently referred to himself as pro-life and he actively supports the Catholic nuns known as Little Sisters of the Poor. Trump has defended the sisters from Obama-era regulations that forced the sisters to provide health insurance that covered abortion inducing drugs. 

Social Justice- Donald Trump administration actively works with and supports local law enforcement. His administration expanded the Protect Safe Neighborhoods to potentially develop crime reduction strategies. He also intends to enforce hard and more serious prosecutions for criminals that are deemed “violent”. 

Police Reform- Donald Trump supports Defend Our Police. He aims to fully fund and hire more police officers and law enforcement. His administration aims to increase criminal penalties for assault on law enforcement and to end cashless bail. 

Gun Regulation- Donald Trump has consistently supported the Second Amendment. His website states, “The right of the people to bear arms shall not be infringed upon.” He supports making concealed carry permits valid in all 50 states and will not support gun restriction laws. He also believes “gun and magazine bans are a total failure,” according to his website.  He does not want to expand background checks to purchase a gun.

Coronavirus- Donald Trump is pushing for a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of 2020. He states things will “return to normal” by 2021 under his administration. His administration aims to refill medical stockpiles and prepare for future pandemics despite his administration disbanding the Global Health Security and Biodefense unit in 2018. 

Economy- Donald Trump aims to create 10 million jobs in 10 months and 1 million new small businesses. He aims to enact fair trade deals to protect jobs in America while cutting taxes to increase take-home pay. The administration has also aimed to promote fairer and equal trade. He withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017 which shifted America’s role in the global economy.  

 

Photos provided by CNN, NBC Getty Images, and Flickr. Story compiled by Jonah Stout and Emma Kenner.

Health Care- Joe Biden opposes Medicare for all because of the cost and the resources it would take to get all people into a single, government plan. He supports the Affordable Care Act and vows to build on it by making it more available, reducing costs, and simplifying the process. His plan has 4 pillars: Give every american access to affordable health insurance, Provide affordable, quality health care and a less complex health care system, stand up to abuse of power by drug corporations, and ensure health care as a right for all.

Climate Change- Biden sees climate change as a major issue. He supports developing new nuclear technologies to fight climate change. He also proposes to end new oil and gas leases on federal land and to end offshore drilling. His plan to reduce carbon emissions is by implementing a carbon tax, which taxes the businesses who release greenhouse gasses.

Abortion- Biden’s stance on abortion has changed since the beginning of his career as a senator. His current stance is that he supports Roe v. Wade, which gives a woman the right to have an abortion, but he does not support partial birth abortions. He has said he will restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood. 

Social Justice- Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda includes how he will address systematic racism, promote diversity, and expand social equality and justice. His plan for social justice is to study reparations for Black Americans and other minorities, provide funding for minority owned businesses, reforming the prison system, and abolishing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent crimes. Biden believes that the current legal system is biased toward minorities and that reforming this system will create more equality. 

Police Reform- Biden has recently come out and said that he supports a federal ban on police use of chokeholds, requiring racial and religious bias training for officers, and collecting data on police use of force. Biden does not support defunding the police. 

Gun rights- Joe Biden supports a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines and would institute a national buyback program for those weapons. He does not support confiscating previously owned firearms. He is in favor of universal background checks and in favor of a local and national firearm registry.

Coronavirus- Biden’s plan to combat the virus would be to urge state and local leaders to implement mask mandates, boost testing throughout the country, and invest in an efficient way to distribute the coronavirus vaccines when they are safe to give out. Biden has also said that he would “trust the doctors and scientists.”

Economy- Biden’s plan to rebuild the economy includes a “Buy American” agenda, which includes a $700 billion investment to develop new technologies such as clean energy and biotech. He also plans on bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. which he claims will create 5 million new jobs. He also plans to boost the corporate tax rate back to 28%.