The potential for an extended period of political unrest and rioting definitely exists.  We could have Trump ahead in the votes cast on Election Day, only to lose if and when the mail-in ballots are counted.  That scenario will almost surely cause rioting.  

There will be considerable legal wrangling by both sides in order to stop or restart the ballot counting in key states.  I expect political unrest and rioting in the weeks ahead.  The extent and duration of that unrest will depend to a great extent on the behavior and tweets of the President.  Therefore it’s rational to believe the unrest will last several weeks at least.  

Any nationwide unrest that lasts more than a week or so is dangerous to the establishment. The establishment cannot permit the misplaced faith of the American people in the government’s integrity and the U.S. sham democracy to be lost.   Since Trump will remain in office until January 20, 2021, under any scenario, he is likely to support demonstrators that are on his side and incite violence against his detractors.  It is hard to imagine that this election will pass without significant unrest and the political establishment has few options available to quell it.  

Adding to the unrest is the dramatic increase in the spread of COVID-19 in the United States, the inability of the government to regain control over it, and the economic devastation caused by the lack of government support for poor and working people.  Regardless of which man is President on January 21, it will take the U.S. a long time to heal and the political and security structure will be looking for a way to unite the nation in a common cause.  War is the usual solution to that problem in the U.S.  Let us hope another resolution is found.
A Biden administration will be somewhat less aggressive in its blind support for the whims of the Netanyahu regime, but the actions of Trump - moving the embassy to Jerusalem and recognition of the Golan Heights as part of Israel, etc. - will not be reversed. An end to talk about the “Deal of the Century”, and probably a return to UNRWA support can be expected, but there will be no change in the longstanding U.S. support for the Israeli government.  In addition, continued U.S. support for the Arab monarchies is assured.

Since the Biden foreign policy team will be full of the same neoconservatives that advised President Obama, I would expect an end to serious peace talks with the Taliban, a continued unwillingness to leave Iraq, continued U.S. occupation of parts of Syria, and no significant change in the policy toward Iran.  

Biden will want to return to the JCPOA, mostly in order to preserve his party’s legacy - the only foreign policy achievement of the Obama years.  However, I would assume the government of Iran will be suspicious of any such move and they should be.  Biden, like Obama, will be surrounded by Zionist hawks who will seek to add new conditions unacceptable to Tehran or provide less sanction relief than would be required to conform to the JCPOA.  The continuing pressure from the Israel Lobby, the Saudi lobby, and the foreign policy establishment will prevent Biden from taking any step toward significant sanctions reduction.

 Charles Dunaway is an American radio host and journalist who runs an online political forum.