By Nasai Rivas
The 2024 election results are another step in the United States’ decline in status on the world stage, Teresa Wright, Long Beach State political science professor, said.
Wright, alongside assistant professor of political science Matt Lesenyie, spoke about the international impacts of the recent election and what the election means for political science during a discussion with students, staff, faculty and family members.
The event, put together by Kathryn Perkins, CSULB’s political science department chair, took place in the University Library on Nov. 14.
“First of all, with regard to international affairs, the ramifications of this election is that the United States is going to continue to flip-flop massively in terms of its approach to the world and in terms of its policies,” Wright said.
She noted President-elect Donald J. Trump pulling the United States out of the Paris Agreement during his first term as a “flip-flop.”
Current U.S. President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s decision. However, Trump is likely to pull out of the agreement again when he returns to office.
Wright said that Trump’s unpredictability makes it difficult to tell what foreign policy will look like during his second term.
“Now that we’re starting to see some of his Cabinet picks, we’re seeing picks that represent different approaches to the world,” Wright said. “So we’re just going to have to kind of see how that plays out in terms of where Trump lands.”
Wright, a specialist in Chinese domestic politics and society, said the election results could be helpful for China.
“In official media outlets in China, there was almost a sense of glee that Trump was elected. Not because leadership necessarily welcomes a Trump administration, but rather because, for Chinese leaders, it further demonstrates that the Chinese political system is superior to the American political system,” Wright said.
Lesenyie spoke about assessing the outcome of the election and his thoughts on political science, media and surveys role in the aftermath.
He said the last two elections have made him reflect on the current state of political science and he criticized the media’s limited narrative throughout the election and its aftermath.
“One narrative that dominated, but we can say now probably meant absolutely nothing was that Kamala [Harris] wasn’t sitting for interviews with major TV networks,” Lesenyie said.
Lesenyie noted that the Democrats defeat is part of a trend of other incumbent parties losing their elections in their respective countries.
