And Now for Their Next Trick

Convinced that their nemesis’s name on the ballot card will get their man elected, partisans of both presidents are delighted; 65 percent of voters, not so much.

With the requisite throat-clearing about the perils of predictions in the Trump era, it’s worth considering what the race would look like. Start with what won’t be on the ballot paper: many of the serious issues that America faces.

China has emerged as a systemic competitor. It threatens to devour Taiwan, an ally and source of semiconductors critical to the US economy. It’s making diplomatic inroads across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. China’s strength is now such that America’s top diplomat Anthony Blinken visited Beijing as a quasi-supplicant this week, unsure whether President Xi would deign to grant him an audience.

Both Trump and Biden have a record on China, but don’t expect their relative efforts to receive much scrutiny.