Trump, polls and the global order: Professor Mark Kenny – Podcast

Although little credibility has been given to US President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was a fraud, he obstinately holds on to office, delaying the transition of power.

But, given the president’s penchant for litigation and the denials flying around in the Republican camp, can we be sure Trump will finally get his marching orders and move on?

To answer this important question and more, Campus Review spoke to journalist and Professor of Australian Studies at ANU, Mark Kenny, about this transfer of power, as well as the accuracy and complexity of polling in the 2020 election. He also discussed President-elect Joe Biden’s likely domestic and international policies, as well as how a Biden administration will approach an increasingly aggressive China.

Kenny said that, based on all reports, “there is no systemised voter fraud that has been going on”. While he conceded that some errors may have occurred, the journalist stated that this is not uncommon in elections around the world.

“All the evidence seems to point to these attempts by the Trump administration to cling on as just the kind of desperation that has come to characterise Trump’s rhetoric for a long time,” Kenny said.

The ANU professor also believes a Biden presidency heralds a return to a more global and less isolationist America, keen to rebuild alliances and commitments to a rules-based order.

Kenny predicts that America’s fraught relationship with China at the moment will be better managed by a Biden administration, but whether that will result in a less aggressive, more reasonable China on issues of trade, the South China Sea and foreign interference is difficult to predict.

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