This has been a turbulent year with the COVID-19 pandemic, economic worries and civil unrest after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minn.

If having a pandemic, job losses and unrest across the country is not enough, 2020 is also an election year during which Americans will vote for the next president.

And, the two presidential candidates President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Joe Biden could not be more different in their leadership styles.

During the final presidential debate on Oct. 22, I listened as Kristen Welker of NBC News asked each candidate how he would address several major issues facing voters today.

The first question Welker asked was how they would lead the country during this next stage of the coronavirus crisis.

Trump responded by saying, “It will go away. And as I say, we’re rounding the turn. We’re rounding the corner. It’s going away.”

How can America be rounding the corner on COVID-19, if according to the CDC’s website on Oct. 25, there were 8,553,827 new cases and 224,221 new deaths?

Biden responded by stating, “What I would do is make sure we have everyone encouraged to wear a mask all the time. I would make sure we move into the direction of rapid testing, investing in rapid testing.

“I would make sure we set up national standards as to how to open up schools and open up businesses so they can be safe and give them the wherewithal, the financial resources to be able to do that.”

How is Biden going to make these happen when some Americans are refusing to wear masks and Congress has been fighting for weeks on the next stimulus package which includes funding for testing, schools and state governments?

Another question the candidates were asked was what they would do if the more than 20 million Americans who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act have their health insurance taken away.

Trump stated, “What I would like to do is a much better health care, much better. We will always protect people with preexisting conditions. So, I would like to terminate Obamacare, come up with a brand-new, beautiful health care.”

Trump, however, has yet to provide details of his health care plan to replace Obamacare.

Biden answered by saying, “What I’m going to do is pass Obamacare with a public option and to become Bidencare.

“The public option says if you in fact do not have the wherewithal, if you qualify for Medicaid and you do not have the wherewithal in your state to get Medicaid, you automatically are enrolled, providing competition for insurance companies.

“Secondly, we’re going to make sure we reduce the premiums and reduce drug prices by making sure that there’s competition, that doesn’t exist now, by allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the insurance companies.

“Thirdly ... not one single person with private insurance would lose their insurance under my plan, nor did they under Obamacare.

“Lastly, we’re going to make sure we’re in a situation that we actually protect preexisting.”

Another question asked during the debate was on the topic of race relations in America.

Trump responded, “Nobody has done more for the black community than Donald Trump. And if you look, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception, but the exception of Abraham Lincoln, nobody has done what I’ve done.”

I question his way of doing more for the black community by bringing in the military with tear gas to remove protesters during a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest in Washington, D.C., so he could have a photo opportunity with a Bible in front of a local church.

Biden responded by stating, “The fact of the matter is, there is institutional racism in America. And we have always said, we’ve never lived up to it, that we hold these truths to be self-evident, all men and women are created equal.

“Well, guess what, we have never, ever lived up to it. But we’ve always constantly been moving the needle further and further to inclusion, not exclusion.

“And I’ve laid out a clear plan as to how to do those things just to give people a shot. It’s about accumulating the ability to have wealth as well as it is to be free from violence.”

Biden, however, did not detail his plan to give individuals of different races a shot at wealth and to be free of racial violence.

On Nov. 3, Americans have a choice as to the future direction of this country.

They can re-elect Trump or they can vote to elect a new president, former Vice President Joe Biden.

The voice of each voter in America counts, so cast your vote this election.

Susan Bryant

editorial assistant

Parkland Press

Northwestern Press