For some of us living abroad, especially in countries with the kind of robust public health-care systems many of us wish existed in the States, it can at times be easy to tune out the noise from the homeland. But the EU’s decision to keep the U.S. off the list of countries allowed entry in the context of the coronavirus pandemic is the latest reminder that the Trump presidency isolates the U.S. and hurts Americans living outside the country, too. There has never been a more important election for Americans abroad to make our voices heard.
That Americans are blocked from entering the EU has numerous frustrating practical implications. But more than that, the EU’s decision represents yet another moment in which Donald Trump has profoundly humiliated the U.S. in front of the rest of the world. A 2018 poll from Quinnipiac University shows that the majority of voters are embarrassed to be led by Donald Trump. But Americans living abroad feel this particularly acutely, forced constantly to explain the antics of our mad king to the subjects of other realms. How tragically ironic that under a president whose campaign involved the promise to ban large numbers of people from other countries, Americans now find themselves denied entry by our closest allies because of that president’s own incompetence.
Hyper-Isolationism
Adding injury to insult, Donald Trump’s presidency has dramatically isolated the United States from the rest of the world in ways that impact Americans abroad. After months of remaining connected only through Zoom calls, many of us were surely hoping to host friends and family from the U.S. But although this is an option for citizens of a number of other countries (including the one whose government allowed the virus’s spread by initially covering it up) it is closed indefinitely for Americans wishing to visit friends and family in the EU. In addition to keeping people apart, there will certainly be economic implications for American companies, many of which are inextricably linked to Europe.
Besides having now distanced Americans even more from the rest of the world with the mismanagement of the virus and ensuing travel bans, the current administration has already spent years isolating us in a number of other regards. As president, Trump has worked diligently to tear up every international agreement he can, including most recently an attempt to withdraw from the WHO, an organization that merits at least a passing interest during an historic pandemic. Combined with a number of polls showing widespread disgust for our leader among the citizens of other countries, this behavior dramatically undermines America’s international credibility and capacity to lead on future multilateral activities.
Trump’s Withdrawal Doctrine
The near-compulsive abandonment of a number of international agreements is bad not only for the U.S., but the rest of the world. Though flawed, the Iran nuclear deal effectively, if temporarily, froze that country’s nuclear weapons program, which appears to have restarted since the U.S. withdrew. The Paris Climate Agreement, though insufficient, was a major victory for American leadership and a strong show of international solidarity from virtually every country in the world including the top CO2 emitters. Once Trump withdrew, the U.S. and Bashar al Assad’s Syria for a time stood side by side as the only two countries not part of the agreement (until the Syrian government in 2017 finally signed). Though less high-profile, Trump’s withdrawal or threatened withdrawal from a number of trade agreements also undermines labor standards, not to mention potential benefits to American workers, by ensuring that those inevitable deals are spearheaded by competitors like China who feel little incentive to address those priorities.
In short, Donald Trump is bad for Americans at home and abroad. But what can those of us outside the country do about it? Weekend trips to knock doors in the swing states around election day are probably out of the question—but Americans abroad have as much right to vote as our compatriots at home. They have to simply visit VoteFromAbroad.org to register in their home state and request a ballot, which they must do every calendar year.
The Time Is Now
It may feel as though the election is ages away, but there is no time to waste. Although the right of U.S. citizens to vote abroad is protected by law, the presence of COVID-19 has dramatically slowed postal services. Furthermore, as I discuss in more detail in a recent podcast episode, the right to vote in America, particularly by mail, is under unprecedented threat by this president and his Republican Party. As hard as the Democrats work to encourage turnout, a substantial number of Biden voters will inevitably be prevented from voting, whether by partisan voter ID laws, voter purges, or Republicans refusal to make the election safe in the context of the virus. It is more important than ever that Americans abroad do their part to end the Trump presidency and punish his enablers in Congress. For those of us sick and tired of the daily humiliation “foistered” on us (as Trump might say) by our own dysfunctional government, there is a solution: request your ballot to vote from abroad, and implore your fellow Americans in the U.S. and around the world to vote for Joe Biden.
Oliver Kendall is a writer and communications professional who hails from various different parts of the U.S. He currently lives in Barcelona, where he teaches English and volunteers with Democrats Abroad, having failed to take a break from politics during several years living outside the U.S. in Southeast Asia and Europe. During his free time, he produces a podcast uncreatively titled OK Talks (which can be found on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher and Player.fm), in which he and his guests discuss U.S. and international politics. Though initially planning to stay in Spain only a few months, he’s still deeply enjoying his second year in Barcelona despite having failed to learn almost any Catalan.