Election Day in the US: Does that Change Anything for Africa?
It is #ElectionDay in the #UnitedStates, and the two candidates could not be more different on so many issues. They agree on very few things: I noted an intense media campaign in #Florida aimed at legalizing cannabis and both candidates are in favor of legalizing it.
They also have something in common: a disturbing lack of focus on #Africa. #Trump has always been negative about the continent, while the #Biden administration has had minimal excitement on the same issue and minimal engagement with the continent, being too busy with #Ukraine and the #MiddleEast.
It turns out anytime that's newsworthy on US-Africa relations, it involves #Africom, the military command that has oversight over the continent. High-level Africom officers meeting presidents and prime ministers, a series of #military exercise here and there, and that's pretty much it. The rest is about how scared we should be of #China investing in dozens of #African countries.
What's to expect from the next #WhiteHouse boss? Trump may be unpredictable, but his naming African nations "shithole countries" could be the title of his Africa policy handbook, if he ever hires the next State Department officers at all. As for #KamalaHarris, she's likely to maintain Biden's trajectory, which means over the next four years, we will continue to hear how China is overly aggressive and Russia's Wagner continues to wreck havoc. #Podcast below.