U.S. presidential election in the midst of infection crisis

The United States has become an abnormal situation due to the spread of new coronavirus. President Trump holds a press conference every day to calm down the situation, but President Trump thinks he always has a goal of `` re-election in the fall presidential election '' in his head. Not difficult.

The effects of the new coronavirus have led to a temporary suspension of the presidential election itself, including the selection of opposition and Democratic candidates, but the Trump camp is steadily preparing.

The target is "Women" votes. One of the keys to re-election. Closely following the campaign in the war-torn state, I could see the brilliant strategy.
(Washington branch reporter Atsutoshi Nishikawa)

What does the "advertising tower" of Trump's selection tell?

February, just outside Denver, Colorado. The 1600-meter-high city, overlooking the Rocky Mountains, was covered in snow.

The spread of the new coronavirus worldwide, including China, was reported in the United States, but at this time, the fire on the other shore was still…

It is said that there is a rally hosted by the Trump camp here. The hotel venue, which can accommodate about 300 people, is full of women.

Lara Trump was there. Eric's wife, President Trump's second son, former producer of a television station. Don't look like a model or Hollywood actress.

Lara is the "advertising tower" of the election. One of the election chiefs was the Trump family.

However, the tone is rather severe.

Lara: "Four years ago, the Democrats and the media misunderstood that we women would vote for Hillary because they were women. We're not so stupid, actually smarter. Choose the best person for the White House! "

Lara is 37 years old. She is a mother of a two-year-old young child, and she does not forget about the difficulties of raising children.

Eventually, the venue begins to feel even closer to her.

Female supporter: "I don't believe in the media anymore. I believe in what I heard and heard directly like tonight."

"Women's vote in close war states" holds the key

The Trump camp has a reason to focus on Colorado. He lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton in the presidential election four years ago.

In the 2020 election, victory in a close state called "swing state" is indispensable, and the key to that is the "women's vote."

The lack of women's support was the reason for dropping Colorado.

At that time, Mr. Trump had headwinds with reports of women's past and remarks on women's scandals, such as "Women can do anything if they're celebrities."

To put it the other way around, "If we can get a certain amount of female support, we will approach re-election."

Appeal to women with “numbers”

So what does Trump appeal to women voters for "selling"?

Special attention was given to interviewing workshops to foster camp members. John Pence was the speaker. The name I heard somewhere ... Yes, he is the nephew of Vice President Pence. Just like a "family" election.

A small but sweet mask. Like Lara, he is a senior advisor to the camp.

John Pence explains how to appeal to women.

John Pence: "Numbers matter anyway. When calling, let the facts be objective rather than emotional. Women have the lowest unemployment rate in the last 57 years."

The target is the so-called non-partisans, including women votes.

He indicates to this group that the economy and employment conditions are good, and emphasizes, "Which is more important to you, the living issue or the president's female scandal?"

It doesn't seem like a matter of comparison at all, but the female athletes at the venue felt like that.

A female campaigner: "If you talk directly about your wallet, you'll be interested. It's my wife and women who are responsible for managing their households."

Some people spoke like this.

"I don't want Trump to be my husband or boyfriend, but it's not. He's the US President. I'm okay if I get what I need to do as President and the results."

Focus on "safety" that women are strongly interested in

Remember that women are always concerned about getting women's votes.

Southern Texas. This is another important state that determines the course of elections. Forty percent of the population is Hispanic, many of whom support the Democratic Party.

But here, the Trump camp has come up with a "safety" -focused strategy that is of great interest to women.

McAllen, a town on the border with Mexico. 85% of the population are Hispanic.

When visiting a local Republican branch, women's campaigners are calling for support on the phone.

If the Democratic Party regains power, it will take a policy that is more tolerant of illegal immigrants and "makes security worse." The rise of illegal immigrants will "deprive" Hispanics of legally living in the United States. That is why President Trump, who is tough on illegal immigrants, "protects" our daily lives.

What's more exciting about the spread of the new coronavirus is the relief of women's concerns.

Lara Trump, mentioned earlier, held a “virtual rally” on the Internet last week on the Internet, calling for women's support. "Only President Trump can overcome this crisis and keep his country safe. Biden cannot."

As a result of these efforts, Trump's approval ratings have even been on the rise recently.

The success in appealing to women seems to be evident in terms of political donations to President Trump.

At the time of the election four years ago, donations were made from women who were only a quarter of the total. It has now become one-third, and the donation has increased significantly.

Grace Haley, a researcher at Open Secrets, an organization that analyzes politicians' contributions, said: "The Trump camp is increasingly working with nonpartisan and suburban women. And despite the contributors to Trump's victory, in the midterm elections of 2018, many went to Democratic support, so if their choice is key in this year's election, the Trump camp is also strategically important. It is positioned as "

"But I don't like playing cards."

The Trump-supported women I've described so far are not the majority.

According to a public opinion poll released last month (March) by an American research firm Morning Consult, 44% of women said they would "support" and 54% said they would not "support" Trump. .

Among Democrat supporters, 12% said they would "support" and 85% said "I would not." Their "dislike of playing cards" is overwhelming.

Of course, the Trump camp knows that too.

Therefore, we believe that incorporating even a small number of non-partisan women's votes is essential for re-election.

"Results" decreased with new corona

At present, controlling the spread of the new coronavirus is the most important issue in the United States.

Among them, Trump's "achievement" is declining.

For example, stock prices. President Trump has emphasized that the rise in the Dow Jones is an actual "achievement." For the first time, $ 30,000 was imminent, but stock prices plummeted from late February. Last month (March), it finally fell short of the closing price in January 2017 when President Trump took office. In other words, "offset".

"It has been 50 years since the unemployment rate has been so low," but the weekly new jobless claims filed on the 2nd of April this month is the worst ever record of over 6.6 million.

If this situation continues, the “base” of the women acquisition strategy will collapse. President Trump is afraid that women who value “daily life” will lose their hearts.

Perhaps they are urging them to recover the economy as soon as possible and to appeal that they've survived the crisis.

What is behind the strange situation ...

Opposition parties and Democrats want to go on the offensive with the "new coronavirus crisis."

Former Vice President Biden approaching the Democratic presidential candidate emphasizes his ability to respond to crisis management and has stated that he wants to select a woman as the candidate for vice president. Women have never been Vice Presidents in the United States.

In the past month, the United States has been drastically changed by the new coronavirus. Words such as "WAR (war)" and "INVISIBLE ENEMY" have come to be used frequently. Many people say that they are more worried than at the time of the “September 11 terrorist attacks”.

Unfortunately, in order to prevent the spread of infection, we have become more difficult to interview and have no direct access to people from all over the United States. First of all, when I get over this situation and can run around again, I want to see what has changed in the field and what has not changed.

Washington bureau reporter Atsutoshi Nishikawa