The 2020 presidential election will come down to one poignant thing – the facemask. The country is divided by different social and economic problems. The two sides are hoping their candidate, either Joe Biden or Donald Trump comes out victorious in November. The ideology driving both sides is a complex mismatch of several political issues coalescing around Biden or Trump.

Neither side can claim a majority of the several social issues dividing the country because there are too many for the two candidates to fully address. But if the election needs an avatar to define the country’s division it is the face mask. The facemask defines 2020. It also poignantly shows the divide between Biden and Trump.

The 2020 election is an election between those who wear a facemask and those who do not.

Trump’s reelection comes down to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Trump supporters, many who see the facemask as the symbol of the opposition to the Trump presidency and thus mostly refuse to wear facemasks against the Biden supporters who wear masks.

The November election is a referendum masked on issues like policing, the economy and the response to the national emergency. It is an election between those who wear a facemask against those who refuse to wear one.

Martin Paredes

Martín Paredes is a Mexican immigrant who built his business on the U.S.-Mexican border. As an immigrant, Martín brings the perspective of someone who sees México as a native through the experience...