At dawn tomorrow, voters will head to the polling booths to decide the future of the U.S. presidency.

The choice is between sitting President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

The election cycle, which began at the Iowa Caucuses in February 2020, has since seen a global pandemic grip the United States, in which over 230,000 Americans have lost their lives.

Despite the turmoil, both candidates have since laid out their proposals for America, often characterised by their stark personal and policy differences.

However, among the debate and controversy, it’s easy to lose track of some of the important issues.

So, if you’re confused, unsure or just want to know, here are two crucial questions each candidate has failed to address:

Donald Trump

Is it game over for Trump on China and manufacturing?

In 2016, Donald Trump said he wanted to “cut a better deal with China that helps American businesses and workers compete”.

He sought to bring China to heel and end what he claimed were unethical practices, such as lax standards, currency manipulation and intellectual property theft. Additionally, he pledged to “restore manufacturing in the United States”.

Four years later, the same promise stands, with Trump wanting to “bring back one million manufacturing jobs from China”. So, the question remains, has he made any progress?

The self-proclaimed dealmaker-in-chief would argue so, after agreeing to a ‘Phase One’ treaty with China in January 2020. This treaty brought down tariffs on China from 17% to 16% and China agreed to purchase $200 billion more American products.

On the face of it, this might seem like a success, but statistics show the trade war has done more damage than good.

The Congressional Budget Office reported that household income has gone down by $1277 while consumer pricing went up by 0.5%. This affects low and middle-income families, cancelling out the benefits of his tax cuts, which accumulate to an average of $40 per household.

‍Reshoring U.S. manufacturing and making American businesses more competitive has also proven to be unsuccessful. Moody Analytics suggests that the Trade War which began in 2018 has caused firms to delay hiring, costing an estimated 300,000 jobs. At the same time, domestic investments have stalled due to increased uncertainty.

Notably, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and Economic Policy Institute, 1800 factories have closed during the Trump administration and the imposed tariffs have led to a 1.1% drop in manufacturing employment.

‍With four more years of uncertainty over China, the U.S. manufacturing industry is yet to see any of these policies bear fruit.

Where is the wall, and will DACA stand?

Immigration is a key issue for Trump and the words “build the wall” have been synonymous with his campaign since its inception in 2015.

As it stands in 2020, Trump looks to be out of money and out of time. 370 miles have been built, according to Customs and Border Patrol. This includes a lot of replacement and secondary barriers with much of the U.S.-Mexico border left open.

At almost $20million a mile, his wall is perhaps the most expensive in the world, and money is no small issue. Trump claimed earlier in the year that well over 500 miles would be completed by January 2021 but so far appears to only have funding for 445 miles.

This leaves the Trump administration scrambling to find a further 130 miles of funding in three months and a race to build it in whatever time is left.

Perhaps just as important to Trump’s plan to restrict immigration is his opposition to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), which protects Dreamers, those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

DACA has been significantly restricted since Trump took office and no new applicants are being accepted into the programme.

Trump hit his own barrier over DACA during the summer when the United States Supreme Court blocked his attempt to rescind the programme. The White House said they would continue to review the legislation but since then, the popularity of it has made Trump reluctant to discuss any further efforts to end it during election season.

This leaves a big hole in his immigration plans and roughly 800,000 Dreamers uncertain for their future.

Joe Biden

Is Biden serious about Black America?

Perhaps the most important issue for the future of the United States is the lives of Black people. Protests across the nation that erupted following the death of George Floyd and others have reflected the rage surrounding racial disparities.

Biden has put forward a comprehensive plan to combat racism in the justice system but his socio-economic plans are lacking. Crucially, Biden’s ‘Plan for Black America’ largely fails to specifically target Black Americans.

At best, Biden promises to extend and capitalise on Obama-era institutions, such as the Minority Business Development Agency that helps black businesses win Federal contracts. However, in the private sector, bureaucratic reforms, loans and tax credits are applied on a blanket basis, offering nothing extra to deal with glaring disparities.

For example, Biden plans to expand the New Markets Tax Credit, then make the programme permanent, and double funding for Community Development Financial Institutions. These provide just as much support to Black and White businesses, failing to account for the racial disparities that stand to drag Black businesses behind.

The inadequacy of race-neutral policies like these is well documented. Biden himself said that “race-neutral policies are not a sufficient response to race-based disparities” in his manifesto. Data from the Pew Research Centre and Bureau of Labour Statistics show consistent racial disparities in employment, home and business ownership since the 1990s. These statistics stand as a testament to the failure of a race-neutral policy to make a significant change in the last 20 years.

If these policies really are all Biden has to offer Black America, the question stands over whether he really wants to make a change or kick the can down the road.

Biden on Guns: practical, feasible or just naive?

Vice President Biden has spent much of his political career championing gun control regulations, boldly stating that he “has taken on the NRA on the national stage and won twice”.

Continuing down this path, his 2020 manifesto contains an extensive plan to bring the firearm deaths down, with 35,000 deaths occurring just this year. This includes bringing back the 1994 assault weapons ban, encouraging manufacturers to produce smart guns, and enforcing federal background checks on all purchases of guns and the code needed to 3D print a gun.

A key proposal is to close long-standing loopholes in background check policy, which currently allow one in five firearms to be sold without a background check. An example is the “hate crime” loophole which allows those convicted of a hate crime to purchase a firearm.

These proposals have proven popular, as a Gallup poll conducted in March 2018 found that 92% of Americans supported further background checks and 89% of these people believed they were either effective or very effective in preventing mass shootings.

However, while there is clear impetus for new legislation, a question remains on the feasibility of Biden’s proposals, such as “state incentivised red flags laws” which allow states to choose whether they wish to implement legislation. This legislation has proven controversial, as it can have a different application from state to state without overarching guidance.

Of course, gun reform has faced long-standing challenges in the Senate, House of Representatives and from the National Rifle Association’s lobby and filibuster. The task has proven difficult in the past - notably in 2013, when Barack Obama and Biden attempted to pass background checks that were defeated 54-46 in the Senate, despite a Gallup poll at the time finding that 65% of Americans wanted the bill to pass.

Impetus, logistics and willpower aside, passing gun reform remains a difficult task. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken centre stage and will be at the top of the legislative agenda for the next two years, providing only a small window for Biden to pass any reforms.

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What now?

With both campaigns reaching their apex, many of these questions will go unanswered before Election Day.

Instead, it will be up to the next resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to take on the mantle and address these issues.

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You can find this article's authors on Twitter: @alirazamanji99 and @LouisSykes100