Whether Trump or Harris wins, it is none of our business. Americans (and if Democrats have their way, all illegal immigrants) will vote in whoever they think is best for their own interest. No less than Lee Hsien Loong has expressed this is the position of Singapore. But privately, certainly Singapore hope the one that is best aligned with our own interest wins.
In the run up to the US 2024 election, Straits Times have thus far carried some articles written by local journalists as well as syndicated posts. All the articles I have read unabashedly lean towards Kamala Harris. I see the same biased reporting of US leftist media propagating a Harris win in the debate. There was no calling out the numerous lies of Harris but on the other hand calling out Trump's truth as untrue. There is no serious analysing of economic platforms, for which Harris actually presented none other than rhetorics. One gets the impression the Straits Times is an extended mouthpiece of the Democrats.
The Straits Time being a state media, what it publishes provides an insight into the position of the Singapore government. It is obvious to me the government favours Harris over Trump. This seems an oddity since Harris is held by many as the most extreme progressive Democrat who has been placed to the Left of Bernie Sanders, the one hypocrite millionaire Congressman generally held as the number one communist in the DNC. Harris' socialist economic ideas are totally at odds with PAP's stringent approach towards fiscal management.
As a small city state with no hinterland, no natural resources, and no critical mass population, a free trade order in the world is an existential matter for Singapore. For years, Singapore bureaucrats had worked feverishly with the Obama regime for the Trans Pacific Partnership. This was a large free trade agreement negotiated among 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the U.S. It was designed to create a new set of rules for trade among these nations, reduce tariffs, and foster economic ties. Trump believed TPP would harm American workers and manufacturing. His election platform was for 'America First' in trade policies. On coming into office in 2017, Trump withdrew the US from the TPP. In addition, Trump holds disdain for certain world organisation like UN and WTO, believing that while US is the biggest funder, these institutions have been captaured by countries hostile to US interests. In December 2019 Trump admin blocked the appointment of new judges to the Appellate Body of WTO. The Appellate Body adjudicates trade disputes between member nations. Trump believed the WTO was biased against the U.S. and that the Appellate Body had overstepped its mandate. By preventing the appointment of new judges, the Appellate Body could no longer function, halting its ability to hear trade disputes.
In the realm of free trade. 'America First' ideology of Trump does not sit well with Singapore Inc. This sole factor overides all other considerations, overlooking all the strengths of Trump that ordinarily the Singapore Government would have appreciated -- his promises for world peace, a stronger US leadership in a very troubled world, withdrawal of US military adventurism, engage China in economic competition rather than military, and reduction in funding NATO. As a non-politician now, George Yeo once articulated his admiration on the net-net positive attributes of Trump. In the kind of group-think world of PAP, it's most likely Yeo was voicing party opinion. So the government's position is not so much a love for Harris, but a fear of Trump's views on free trade initiatives.
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