With fewer than five months remaining until the presidential election on Nov. 3, developments in the United States since February have yielded four major surprises. And these unexpected developments pose four significant challenges to the new administration beginning on Jan. 20, 2021, regardless of whether the election is won by the incumbent, President Donald Trump, or his rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.
Four surprises
Surprise number one was Biden’s clear victory in the South Carolina primary election on Feb. 29. Having suffered a string of losses — in the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 3, the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11 and the Nevada caucuses on Feb. 22 — Biden was literally up against the wall and would have had to withdraw from the presidential contest had he lost in South Carolina. But thanks to the support of African-American congressman Jim Clyburn and African-American voters, Biden made a miraculous comeback and won decisively with 49 percent of the popular vote.