“Society is polarized, needs a president who can be balanced,” says American professor as election countdown begins.

By Apoorva Kaul

An October 8 New York Times/Siena College poll showed Vice President Harris with a slight lead over Donald Trump as the US election enters the domestic phase. According to the poll, voters are more likely to see Harris as someone who will buck the status quo.

Freedom from the status quo is probably what American voters want, with University of Nevada journalism professor Paromita Penn saying that American society is “extremely polarized” and needs a president who is balanced in thought and outlook. he/she emphasized that Americans are “deeply concerned and unhappy” about the state of democracy in the US.

In an email interview with ANI, the American professor pointed out that there are clear differences in views between the two candidates regarding race, colour, ideology and issues.

“At this time, America needs a President who is balanced in thought and approach. American society is indeed extremely polarized. In 2024, Pew Research revealed that Americans are extremely unhappy and concerned about the state of democracy in the country. There is conflict over issues of immigration, abortion and same-sex marriage, and of course different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Professor Penn said, there are clear differences between the two candidates not only in terms of race and color, but also on ideology and various issues.

Paromita Penn says women’s health rights and immigration are decisive issues in the presidential elections to be held on November 5 this year. The professor says that Melania Trump has also expressed her support for women’s health rights and the former US President has also supported her.

“As someone who is following the elections very closely, I think the decisive issues will be women’s health rights and immigration. We have already talked to Melania Trump about how much she supports women’s health rights and Trump also supports them. This is a clear change from how they were previously discussing these issues,” he/she said.

Kamala Harris has made her position on the subject public, declaring that if she becomes US President she would “proudly” sign a bill to bring back Roe v Wade protections.

According to an American professor, Kamala Harris’s race will definitely matter to voters of color. Citing Pew research, Paromita Penn said that a majority of Americans believe being a woman of color and Asian would be an asset.

“Her (Kamala Harris) race and color will certainly matter as they already do. In 2020, when he/she was nominated vice president, the erotic hashtag #heelsupharris appeared 35,479 times in Twitter posts, according to an analysis by media intelligence platform Zignal Labs. It also found that, immediately after the running-mate was announced, false claims about Harris were being shared at least 3,000 times per hour on Twitter. “Pew research has clearly shown that a majority of Americans believe that her gender and her being Black and Asian would be an asset,” she said.

Kamala Harris’s mother was Indian and father Jamaican. his/her parents immigrated to the United States. She is the first woman of color and the first Asian American Vice President.

Trump is launching a personal attack on Harris by claiming that she “passed black” a few years ago, after being of “Indian heritage” for years.

However, the American professor says that the court cases against Donald Trump do not have an adverse effect on the voters’ decision.

“The Trump issues were present in the earlier election as well. They do not appear to have any adverse impact on voter decisions. We will have to keep an eye on the results of this election to measure the impact.”

Paromita Penn is an Associate Professor, Global Media Studies and Cybersecurity Center Affiliated Faculty, University of Nevada, Reno. he/she is also an affiliated faculty at the Ozmen Institute.