IN approximately nine months, the United States will give birth to a new presidential term and, perhaps, a new president. Much can happen in the interim, but it is not too early to start thinking about that election.
And, of course, there are some that think that Filipinos should go to sleep every night concerned, if not worrying, about the US and our relations to Uncle Sam.
It is interesting that some Filipinos view President Donald J. Trump almost exactly as they see President Duterte. “He is an incompetent, foul-mouthed misogynist who loves Russia [or China as the case may be] and who wants to be dictator for life.”
Also interesting is that in a recent Pew Research Center global poll, the Philippines, of all countries, trusts Trump more than the rest. At least 77 percent in the Philippines have confidence in Trump to do the right thing in world affairs. Is it a coincidence that President Duterte holds a net satisfaction rating of 72 percent and a trust rating of 76 percent?
Globally, Trump’s “confidence” rating is just 29 percent.
This past week, the Democratic Party continued to vote to choose its candidate to run against Trump for president on November 3. The latest state to decide was Nevada, where Filipinos make up 5.6 percent of the total population. The US senator from the state of Vermont, Bernie Sanders, crushed his opponents, including the US vice president under Barack Obama, Joe Biden.
Sanders is 78 years old and is a career politician who describes himself as a “democratic socialist.” As such, he wants tuition-free college for all, reduced military spending, and putting greater emphasis on labor rights and environmental concerns when negotiating international trade agreements.
On June 12, 2017, US senators reached an agreement imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran. Sanders was one of two who opposed the bill because he was concerned that sanctions on Iran would hurt the Iran nuclear deal.
His campaign thrust is almost solely on domestic social and economic issues. But his becoming president would obviously have an impact on the Philippines. From the Sanders’s campaign web site: “Work with pro-democracy forces around the world to build societies that work for and protect all people. In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, democracy is under threat by forces of intolerance, corruption and authoritarianism.”
But that is almost from a common script by Americans who want to be the president. Barack Obama said in 2008: “In every region of the globe, our foreign policy should promote traditional American ideals: democracy and human rights; free and fair trade and cultural exchanges.”
Hillary Clinton, running for president in 2016, said: “This strategic and volatile part of the world [South Asia] is important to the US and that we support their efforts to strengthen democracy, expand free markets, and promote tolerance and human rights.”
George W. Bush said: “If we are a creedal nation, united by a commitment to democracy, equality, and liberty, with a mandate and mission to impose those ideas and ideals on mankind, we shall have a foreign policy like that of George W. Bush.”
Some Filipinos may lose sleep thinking about the US. US presidents do not lose sleep thinking about the Philippines. If Bernie Sanders becomes president, that will not change.