Since the days of the 2016 presidential election and subsequent rise to power of President Donald Trump, a majority of Americans are looking forward to the next cycle that will culminate in Trump’s possible re-election Nov.r 3, 2020. Most likely, Trump will be re-nominated by the Republican Party, as no sitting president has lost re-nomination since Franklin Pierce in 1852. However, a majority of Americans do not want this. And, to be honest, why would they?
Trump has done next to nothing but sit around, play golf, point fingers at everybody else, and consistently do and say things that are definitely not worthy of the presidency. His lack of immediate condemnation of the KKK and white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, his saying that Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico, was not a “real catastrophe like [Hurricane] Katrina”, his obsession with repealing Obama-era policies such as the Affordable Care Act and Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, both of which have improved equality in the United States, have shown that Donald Trump is anything but presidential.
However, it is clear that he will win the Republican seat in 2020. After all, there is no way that the Republican Party would even try to defy their leader for fear of a Twitter rant. The question, however, remains of who will stand up for the Democrats.
It appears, however, that someone has stepped up, and he may be the best option available for the moment: United States Representative John Delaney of Maryland, who became the first Democrat to announce candidacy for the 2020 presidential election.
Before we can determine if Delaney is a good candidate for president, we need to look at what a good president looks like. The answer lies in everything, well, almost everything, that Donald Trump is not.
A good president is knowledgeable about life at all incomes, as well as the pros and cons for policies both domestic and foreign. The president must be able to negotiate with not only members of his own party, but also the opposition, in short, the president must be bipartisan with a clear vision in mind. The president must also have good or even great personal conduct, never rushing to anger with a rational mind. Most importantly of all, however, the president of the United States must want to improve not just the country and its standing in the world, but also the general attitude of its people.
Donald Trump, to date, has done none of that. It’s perfectly clear in his approval rating, currently at 38 percent, according to Gallup. However, Representative Delaney is more than ready and equipped to tackle every single one of these criterion.
In the opinion piece he wrote in the Washington Post that announced his candidacy, Delaney explains the reason he’s running for president as him having, “an original approach to governing and an economic policy that can put us on a different course,” and he should. Upon his election to office in 2012, he became the only member of the 113th Congress to be a former CEO of a publically traded company, CapitalSource, which, to date, has not experienced much scandal, if anything at all. He more than understands the need to make and ke ep money as the CEO of a massive company, as well as living in a working-class environment, demonstrated in that same statement where he said, “I was raised in a blue-collar family; my dad was a union electrician, and my parents didn’t attend college. Because of a great education and a helping hand from others, I was fortunate enough to become a successful entrepreneur.”
He has a law degree, something our president cannot claim, and has already, in five years of office, introduced pieces of legislation that would eliminate gerrymandering and get more people to turn out on election day through making it a federal holiday. As such, he is a well-respected member of not only his party, but also Congress as a whole, something that Trump has demonstrated is not and will never be.
Delaney is also well-regarded as a highly bipartisan politician, something rare in these days of far-left and far-right. This approach has been criticized by Sen. Elizabeth Warren who has warned Delaney to move farther to the left and not negotiate with the alt-right Republicans who seem to permeate Congress. However, despite these shoves from senior members, Delaney has stood his ground and shown that he can delegate with both sides of the aisle, a skill that will be necessary upon entering office.
So, is John Delaney the best candidate for president out there? Maybe, maybe not. We cannot say for sure until every candidate has declared. However, is he one of the best options so far? Absolutely. Best of luck, Rep. Delaney, you have my vote for now.