By Mohammad Mazhari
TEHRAN - A professor from Hamline University says that the role of the U.S. in the world is losing color as its economy is no longer dominant in the world. “America’s role in the world is shrinking because its economy is no longer as dominant as it used to be,” David Schultz tells the Tehran Times.
However, Schultz says if Joe Biden wins the November elections he may present “a different version of U.S. economic nationalism that is not a rough as Trump’s.”
Following is the text of the interview with Schultz:
Q: Can Trump’s infection with the coronavirus affect the fate of the elections?
A: It has definitely changed the election where I think Biden is probably favored to win. Trump is a good campaigner and will not be able to do that for a couple of weeks and even after that, it is not clear he can do political rallies that have been very successful for him.
The president’s illness also means it will be his health and not Biden’s which will be the topic of speculation. Finally, Trump’s infection means that his handling of the pandemic will remain a central issue of the campaign and he gets bad reviews for it. Finally, On October 2, the latest employment news was not good for America and Trump cannot count on a recovering economy to help him.
“I do not see the basic support for Israel changing and I doubt the U.S. will pull out of Afghanistan.”
Q: The New York Times has revealed Trump had hidden tax information from public view that for a decade. Do you think such issues affect the results of upcoming elections?
A: Trump’s taxes should have been the story of the week but it was eclipsed by the first debate and then by the president getting sick. I doubt his political supporters care about the tax issue very much and they will ignore it, thinking that Trump is a smart business person to have avoided taxes.
Q: Do you predict a civil war if one of the nominees refuses to accept the election results?
No. Basically, the U.S. is a strong country and for the most part law-abiding. People will accept the results. There will be some protests but no civil war.
Q: Can Trump resort to Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops onto streets to quell possible protests over the election results?
A: This would be very difficult to do. It is difficult to invoke this Act and bring out federal troops and I doubt that there will be much political support to do this.
Q: Would sexual assault allegations against two or one of the nominees change the result of elections?
A: No. the president has faced many allegations and they have not hurt him with his base. For the most part, the allegations against Biden have been ignored.
“I see both countries (Iran and the U.S.) still stuck in the past and unable to move forward.”
Q: Regardless of who will be in the White House, do you expect a meaningful change in U.S. policies, including endless wars and intervention in other countries' domestic issues?
A: If Trump wins, no. If Biden wins accept to see some shift back to more multilateral policies and efforts to try to work with other countries. I do not see the basic support for Israel changing and I doubt the U.S. will pull out of Afghanistan. Biden will present a different version of U.S. economic nationalism that is not a rough as Trump’s but the latter has changed the debate and approach to U.S. foreign policy for the short term. U.S. foreign policy is changing anyhow as America’s role in the world is shrinking because its economy is no longer as dominant as it used to be.
Q: Iran has said it will reverse its decision in reducing JCPOA commitments provided that the new U.S. administration makes undertakings that it will not pull out of the nuclear deal and that it would “compensate the financial losses caused by the sanctions.” What is your assessment?
A: At this time, I do not see compensation from the U.S. as an option. Were Trump to be re-elected this would definitely not happen. If Biden wins, I see him willing to renegotiate the JCPOA but there is still a lot of work that needs to occur before the U.S. and Iran trust one another to develop deeper and changed relations. I see both countries still stuck in the past and unable to move forward.
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