Presidential candidate

Answer

1. • 1. 1. Presidential Candidates Discussion

           As the 2020 US presidential elections draw near, most of the 30 candidates have withdrawn from the race leaving only two candidates to battle it out on the polls. Come November 3, 2020; voters will decide who between the current president, Donald J. Trump, of the Republican Party, and Joseph R. Biden, of the Democratic Party, will be their next president. Debates have been held with each of the two candidates declaring their stance on significant issues they advocate in their campaign. Amongst these issues is the debate on the healthcare policy. Hence, as the US presidential elections become a two-person race to the polls in November, the presidential candidates could use the media as a tool to convey their views on the healthcare policy to back up their theoretical approaches to it.

                       As presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden present contrasting views on the healthcare policy in their presidential debates. Both candidates agree on reducing healthcare costs, but disagree on how to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, lower insurance premiums, health coverage, and drive down prescription drug prices. Attempting to reduce the federal government's role in the US's healthcare, Mr. Trump advocates for legislation to do away with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that seeks to set a necessary coverage threshold countrywide while providing subsidies to pay for health insurance. Mr. Trump also campaigns that decision-making should be moved from the capital, Washington, and power placed back to the states (Armour, 2020). He continues to champion the work requirements in Medicaid and states' approval to seek new ways to pay for Medicaid. Equally important, he also supports that states should import certain drugs from other countries to reduce prices while increasing competition.

                       On the other hand, Mr. Biden hopes to expand the federal government's role in American healthcare. Mr. Biden warrants the federal government to finance insurance for some residents in states that have not expanded on Medicaid (Uhrmacher et al., 2019). He emphasizes that this is achievable through registering said individuals in a federal public option that mirrors Medicare. In a bid to counter Trump's first term administration that Biden says has undermined the ACA, Mr. Biden proposes expanding the program by letting people buy into the public option (Ballotpedia, 2016). By this advocacy, he seeks to propel Medicare to haggle drug prices to affordable prices. Overall, these campaign strategies rely on theoretical assumptions rather than practicality.

                       In my opinion, each of the presidential candidates uses theoretical assumptions to push their agendas on the healthcare policy. With the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic, Biden advocates for mask mandates while Trump does not, even after testing positive for the infection. The overall view on this as a point of focus in championing the healthcare policy, Biden would revert funding to the WHO for the pandemic while Trump seeks to withdraw the country from the organization and push the funds to other health programs (Armour, 2020). More so, this provides a clear picture that none of the candidates have done the calculations to back their evidence if other health risks prevail after the pandemic. Consequently, other pending health programs would be beneficial from funding by organizations like WHO as the federal government also chips in into making better healthcare decisions for US citizens. Accordingly, in such a digital age, both candidates need to use the media to convey their healthcare policy agendas clearly to the people.

                       I believe that media can be a useful tool in seeking support to convey each of the presidential candidates' messages on the healthcare policy through viral marketing campaigns strategies like ads on social media sites, healthcare infomercials on platforms like YouTube, and celebrity-filled videos. The importance of creating such content traffic is that people rely on their mobile devices for information. Therefore, creating simple, appealing advertisements that may appear on most used social media applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, the presidential candidates will echo their ideas and be on constant replay on every technological device possible (Themes, 2017). Involving local celebrities in policy campaign strategies will invite interest in youth, as they will appear more appealing than generic newsroom traffic that they may perceive as dull and unnecessary. People will seek news and information from the media, especially social media, living in a digital age. The presidential candidates can use social media platforms to push their healthcare policies and push ahead on the race towards becoming the next US president in the upcoming elections.

            In conclusion, the digital age depends on us as much as the upcoming US presidential election. Down to a two-horse race between Donald J. Trump and Joseph R. Biden for the presidency, each of the candidates has different healthcare policy views. While Trump seeks to reduce the federal government's role in American healthcare, Biden seeks to increase it. However, these are just but theoretical assumptions while seeking more from the public through the media presence. Simple strategies that include viral media marketing campaigns will help in making their voices heard on the matter.