PENNSYLVANIA, United States — A college professor says former Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s “love him or hate him” factor is a major influence on how voters choose the next president and turnout in the U.S. election. Tuesday.

John Kincaid, a political science professor at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, was responding to a question from the Jamaica Observer when he made the comparison on Monday.

“One thing about Donald Trump is that he really mobilizes voters on both sides. People either love Trump or hate Trump, so people who hate Trump want to come out and people who love Trump want to come out and vote, so it’s a big voter mobiliser,” Kincaid said.

“I think we will probably see a higher turnout than we saw in the last election in 2020,” he added.

However, he explained that support for the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, may be boosted by student voters in Pennsylvania who are shifting their vote from Democratic areas such as New York.

“I think the type of polarization that our system is experiencing will determine that presence. One factor that could sway the election for Kamala Harris is the (student) voters,” he said.

“Thousands of students, including those who attend Lafayette, are out of state and register to vote in Pennsylvania because we’re a swing state their vote could make a difference here if they’re from New York, which is going Democratic. ” he added.

He argued that Democrats are more vulnerable this time than they were in the 2020 polls because of rising inflation, the highest since 2008.

“…That could swing this county in the other direction because a lot of these students get out and vote. Democrats are more vulnerable in this election than they were in 2020 because of inflation…there was no inflation under Trump,” he argued.

—Kasey Williams