The democratic system of the United States

The United States of America is a republic and a federal state. This means that the US doesn’t have a king and it consists of 50 states that have a great degree of freedom when it comes to making laws. For example, Texas in the south has completely different laws than Minnesota in the north. At the same time, the US has a central power which is located in the capital Washington DC.

The United States Congress is the legislature. It is composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. The Congress is made up of representatives from all of the American states. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States, and it makes sure that all of the states follow the American Constitution. The President is considered to be the head of state and head of government. The President is elected every four years and can only be re-elected once.

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Elections in November 2020

In the US Congress there are two main political parties that dominate politics. The Republicans are more conservative and the Democrats are more liberal. Donald Trump was a Republican candidate. Joe Biden was a Democrat candidate.

In November 2020 a presidential election took place in the United States. This was an exciting election as the US is still considered to be one of the world’s largest economies and holds a high level of influence on international politics.

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Donald Trump

Donald Trump won the presidential election in 2016. At the time he was competing against the Democrat Hillary Clinton. The opinion polls didn’t predict his victory, but on election day he surprised the whole world.

Before running for President of the United States, Trump was known as a rich investor. He was a real estate developer and had been the main character on a reality TV show.

Trump is from the city of New York and comes from a rich family. Many of his family members were given roles in his administration.

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«Make America Great Again»

Trump had great plans to speed up the US economy and create jobs. He was critical of how many factories and industries have moved from the US to China over the past 30 years. He was looking to introduce a policy to protect American jobs, companies and products.

At the same time, Trump wanted to lower taxes and provide less of a welfare state. Trump and the Republicans believe that it is the individual’s responsibility to look after themselves. They do not think welfare is the responsibility of the state. That is why they don’t want free healthcare for American citizens.

Trump also wanted stricter immigration rules and less international cooperation. He threatened to cut ties with the UN several times.

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Joe Biden

Joe Biden was the candidate for the Democrats. Biden has experience as Vice President in president Barack Obama’s administration from 2009 to 2017 . Joe Biden is known to be a very good negotiator. He has previously reached political agreements between the Democrats and the Republicans. Biden is from Pennsylvania.

«Build Back Better»

The winner of the Presidential elections of 2020, Joe Biden, is looking to make big changes in American social policy. He would like to see benefits introduced for the unemployed, a fairer wage system and cheaper and more accessible education.

Biden would like to support minorities such as Black and LGBTQ+ communities across the country against discrimination. He also seeks to strengthen the position of the US in foreign policy and to build stronger relationships with the EU and the South American countries.

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How to become President of the USA

The political landscape

Some would say that the people of the US have never before been quite so divided as they were during the elections in 2020. Trump and Biden disagreed completely about how to govern the United States.

This was clear during the debate held on 30 September 2020. Instead of focusing on their politics, a lot of the time was spent personally attacking each other. Words such as ‘clown’, ‘racist’ and ‘shut up’ were used, and Trump didn’t want to distance himself from the alt-right movement or the white supremacists.

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America’s 46th President after a historic election

Joe Biden and his Vice President candidate Kamala Harris won the election with the highest number of votes in US history. They won with 306 electoral votes over Donald Trump and his Vice President Mike Pence with their 232 votes.

In several states, the competition was so close that it took four days before the press felt comfortable to announce a winner. President Trump got a lot of attention because he refused to accept that he lost even when all the votes were counted. Accepting defeat is considered an important part of the democratic transfer of power. Trump also repeatedly complained about electoral fraud and demanded a recount of votes despite a lack of any evidence.

Joe Biden was inaugurated as America’s 46th President in the White House on 20 January 2021.

Sources:

Media Rights:

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    3. Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0) 
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    5. Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
    6. Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)
    7. USAgov – YouTube
    8. Getty Images / CNBC Television – YouTube
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