The "president's makers" are the ones who influence the outcome of a race
Shadow Leaders in the 2020 US Presidential Election
Women hold banners in support of President Trump's campaign.
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With the increasing clamor and anticipation associated with the 2020 US presidential elections, everyone's eyes are focused on President Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, and the real leaders in managing the complex race towards the White House are absent from the scene.
These leaders are the key figures at the top of the election campaigns for the two, who are carrying out the most complex task in the election, which is to enhance the chances of Trump and Biden garnering as many votes as possible, through multiple electoral strategies, mechanisms and tactics.
An examination of the structure, composition, and performance of each of the two campaigns indicates a clear discrepancy between the two campaigns, which is likely to significantly determine the outcome of the election race.
Trump campaign
President Trump's campaign to run for the 2020 presidential elections began at the beginning of 2019, and the campaign relied on a team of mixed people, some of them from the 2016 election campaign, and some of them new, despite the success of the campaign in the period from its formation until March 2020, the timing of the beginning of the Corona crisis;
However, her performance recorded a clear decline in the period from March to July 2020, which led to a set of changes in its main characters.
In this context, a number of key aspects about the campaign and its performance can be mentioned:
1- The main structure of the campaign team:
Trump's election campaign team includes many officials, advisors, and members of the campaign staff, whether the main team at the national level, or the sub-teams at the US state level, and the main team covers a group of key functions in the campaign, from the campaign manager through to the chief of the campaign staff, and a number of Senior advisors, to the political director of the campaign.
At the national level, the team includes people responsible for running coalitions, the pro-president groups of women, Latins, warriors, policemen, military families, and others.
This is in addition to the people responsible for the different sections of the campaign, including strategic communications, media outreach, legal affairs, financing, and other aspects of campaign activity.
2- The campaign’s performance declined after the Corona crisis:
At first glance, from the formation of the Trump campaign and the people who run it, it seems that the campaign is doing its job in strengthening President Trump's electoral position well, but this does not seem realistic, especially during the period from the beginning of the Corona crisis until July 2020, as the former director of the campaign, Brad Pascal, was raised. Among the criticisms about him for the way he was running the campaign, which went on to suspect that he was running it in a professional manner, and relied mainly on his relationship with Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump's husband, who is considered by American newspaper reports to be the de facto manager who is running things in the campaign from behind a curtain.
Despite the success of his successor, Bill Stephen, in revitalizing the Trump campaign and its effectiveness;
However, his infection with the Coronavirus in early October 2020 affected the campaign, in addition to that some press reports indicated that he did not vote for President Trump in the 2016 elections, and that he feels despair at the possibility of President Trump's success in the current elections, which cast a shadow. Also on the election campaign.
Biden campaign
An analysis of Biden's campaign composition and performance reveals its dependence on several levels in its structure, unlike the main campaign management team, it includes a group of advisors cooperating with the campaign from outside from the personalities who worked with Biden in the past during his tenure as vice president in the two administrations of President Obama, or from The experts and consultants that the administration was assisting, and in order to know the campaign structure and related aspects, the following aspects may be mentioned:
1- The main structure of the campaign team:
It included five levels in its organizational structure, including:
The first group: the campaign presidents participating at the national level, who are the four main figures at the head of the Biden campaign structure, and they are a group of prominent figures in the Democratic Party, and they serve as a group of wise men or influential advisers in the campaign.
The second group: the main campaign management team, and they are responsible for managing the campaign activities at the national level.
The third group: senior advisers contracted with the campaign, and they are a number of senior advisers who have worked in the past with Biden, and close people who listen to them, and have a variety of experiences.
The fourth group: a group of advisers cooperating with the campaign without a contract, and they are among the personalities close to Biden, and they worked with him or President Obama in the past, and these have a major role in providing special advice on foreign policy issues, and some of them are ambassadors, academics and experts.
Fifth group: Campaign officials and team who manage its activities at the local level in the states.
2- The overall performance of the campaign:
The overall assessment of Biden's campaign performance clearly indicates its success in fulfilling its mission to consolidate his electoral position and advance the presidential race, to the point where Biden is so close to the threshold of the White House.
There are three indicators that support this assessment, the first is Biden’s progress in opinion polls at the national and state levels, and the second is the campaign’s adoption of strategies and mechanisms that are compatible with developments in the election race, whether in the primaries within the party or at the level of competition with Trump, in addition to its success. In producing the Democratic Party’s General Conference in coordination with the Party’s General Committee in the best way, and in a manner consistent with the restrictions imposed by the Corona crisis, and the third indicator is the campaign’s ability to collect donations and funding. It is striking that at the beginning of the election race during the primary election period Biden was threatened that He comes out of the election race due to limited funding resources, but now, in the final days of the race, he has collected huge sums of money that exceed Trump's campaign financing.
Obvious contrasts:
A comparison between the Trump and Biden campaigns shows that there are clear differences, whether at the level of what is going on within each campaign and its composition, or at the level of action strategies, messages and mechanisms adopted by each of them, as follows:
1- Difference in structure:
The Trump campaign is divided into two teams, the main group responsible for the campaign at the national level, and the second group that manages the campaign activities at the state level, while the Biden campaign includes five main groups;
This indicates that the Biden campaign relies on a wider team from Trump's team, whether in terms of the number of those involved in the campaign, or in terms of the nature of expertise and competencies.
2- The internal stability of the campaign:
Biden's campaign is witnessing a clear stability in the main figures who run it, especially at the head of the campaign or in some positions within it, while the Trump campaign witnessed a change of its president who left it to take over his deputy, and its former director also left the campaign permanently, in a way that damaged the campaign’s image, in addition to To internal changes made in the campaign.
3- The Candidate’s Effect on the Campaign:
The comparison between Trump and Biden campaigns reveals that President Trump plays a pivotal role in directing and influencing his election campaign, and this was clearly demonstrated during the period from early 2019 to July 2020, as the campaign manager during this period, Brad Pascal, relied on the president's personality and achievements in the first three years of rule. In the campaign move, he did not make sufficient efforts to move in line with the competition for the presidential seat.
At the same time, the reality in Biden's campaign indicates the opposite. The Democratic candidate listens to his campaign and implements its plans and strategies.
Key figures on the Trump team:
The Trump campaign team includes personalities with experience in managing election campaigns, most of whom were working in the White House position and devoted to the election campaign, the most prominent of these figures:
A- Bill Steepen, Campaign Director: He announced his appointment on July 15, 2020, to succeed Brad Barska, due to the latter's failure, which appeared in Trump's retreat in opinion polls after the Corona crisis, and was serving as deputy campaign manager starting May 26, 2020, He previously served as a political director in the White House, moved from the White House to the campaign, has extensive campaign experience, previously worked on the Trump campaign in the 2016 election, and was the field director of the campaign.
Brad Pascal, who held the position of campaign manager for two years, devoted himself from July 15, 2020 to a campaign consultant focusing on electronic campaigning, but he left the Trump campaign at the end of September 2020, after police arrested him, after attempting suicide due to his failure within the campaign And personal problems.
B- Max Miller, Deputy Campaign Director for Presidential Operations: He held this position in the campaign beginning July 7, 2020, and is responsible for all campaign events that include the participation of President or Vice President Mike Pence, or other prominent personalities, and he previously worked for the White House, And it was transferred to the campaign.
C- Justin Clark, Deputy Campaign Director: He assumed his responsibilities in the campaign on July 20, 2020, and moved to the campaign from the White House, where since March 2018 he has been director of the White House Office of Public Communications.
Clark is a lawyer and holds a doctorate in law.
Dr. Jeff DeWitt, Chief Operating Officer: He assumed this position on June 30, 2020, succeeding Michael Glasner, who moved to coordinate legal issues, and was previously the Chief Financial Officer of NASA from March 2018 to February 2020.
Key figures on Biden's team:
The Biden campaign team includes a number of key figures in the five groups, but the main group is the main campaign management team, and the most prominent figures in this group:
A- Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, Campaign Director: She held this position from March 12, 2020, previously worked as Deputy Director of Obama's Campaign 2011-2012, and held the position of Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee from January 2009 to 2010, and has previous experience in several election campaigns for personalities. She sought governor in states, such as Iowa and Florida.
Prior to Jennifer O'Malley, the campaign manager, Greg Schultz held this position from April to March 2020, and his work focused on developing organizational plans for the campaign and continuing to enhance external communication for the campaign, who is one of those who previously worked with Biden.
B- Anita Dunn, Senior Campaign Advisor: She plays a major role in the overall coordination of budget and personnel affairs in the campaign, and previously worked as a White House Communications Director in 2009, and held the position of Senior Communications Adviser and Director of Communications, Policy and Research in the Obama campaign in the 2008 election. Politics by working with Hamilton Jordan, the White House chief of staff, under President Jimmy Carter.
C- Kate Bidingfield, Deputy Campaign Director and Director of Communications: She held this position on April 25, 2019, and previously worked with Joe Biden, when he was Vice President Obama in 2015, and has previous experience in many positions related to communications and media.
Dr. Pete Kavanaugh, Deputy Campaign Director: He held this position on April 25, 2019, and previously worked in Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign and Obama's campaign.
E- Irene Wilson, Political Director of the Campaign: She assumed this position in the campaign from April 25, 2019.She previously worked for Senator Bob Casey's campaign in Pennsylvania from April 2017 to April 2019, and also worked for Hillary Clinton's June-November 2016 campaign.
Variation of opportunities
A few days before the vote in the 2020 US presidential elections, the chances of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, to win the presidential seat are increasing, in light of indications that President Trump's chances of obtaining a second term in the White House, and this difference in the chances of each of them is mainly due to The role of shadow leaders who manage the election battle, while the Biden campaign team uses all professional rules and principles to enhance its candidate's chances;
Trump's campaign is overshadowed by some negatives, potentially undermining his prospect.
President Trump plays a pivotal role in directing and influencing his election campaign, and this was clearly demonstrated during the period from early 2019 to July 2020, as the campaign manager during this period, Brad Pascal, relied on the president's personality and achievements in the first three years of rule in the campaign movement, and he did not make efforts Enough to move in line with the competition for the presidential seat.
Biden's campaign is witnessing a clear stability in the main figures who run it, especially at the head of the campaign or in some positions within it, while the Trump campaign witnessed a change of its president who left it to take over his deputy, and its former director also left the campaign permanently, in a way that damaged the campaign’s image, in addition to To internal changes made in the campaign.
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