Debating How Much a Biden Presidency Breaks From Trump

Should Joe Biden win the presidential election, some of his policies may not look like those of past Democratic presidents, who tended to favor free trade and expanded immigration. Quite the opposite -- some of his proposals might bear a passing resemblance to those of President Donald Trump, differing mainly in terms of degree and implementation. Bloomberg Opinion columnists Conor Sen and Noah Smith, both of whom have written about Biden's agenda, met recently online to debate.

Conor Sen: Something we’ve both noticed is that on trade, Biden is largely affirming President Donald Trump’s approach to shift the U.S. away from free trade. He’s talked about emphasizing buying American-made products. We’ve seen over the past decade how difficult it is to pass immigration reform, and perhaps success for a Biden administration on immigration will be treating the immigrants we have more humanely rather than increasing immigration. It’s difficult for any president to enact more than a few key priorities, and with so many pressing concerns confronting a new Biden administration -- from the public-health crisis to the economy to health care and climate change -- reversing some of Trump’s moves on trade and immigration might get lost in the shuffle. How likely do you think this is, and as a strong proponent of free trade and more immigration does this concern you?

Noah Smith: Well, I’m not such a strong proponent of free trade as it’s typically practiced. I think we’ve neglected industrial policy and exports, and we’re due for a shift back. Trump sort of dimly understood that, but messed it up with counterproductive tariffs. Biden’s plans, in contrast, include a lot of positive measures such as supporting research, education and supply-chain security, as well as some potentially troubling ideas like so-called Buy American provisions. But overall I think he’ll improve our policy.