Biden vs. Trump in the White House contest once more
If asteroids don’t strike Earth before then, Joe Biden and Donald Trump will face off once again in November’s presidential election.
Now that Super Tuesday is over, the rematch that nearly nobody wanted is becoming more and more certain.
With the exception of Vermont, Trump came close to securing enough delegates to the Republican National Convention to secure the nomination after nearly sweeping the GOP races in fifteen states and one territory. Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, his sole remaining opponent from the Republican Party, has decided to withdraw from the race.
The rollout of Biden’s plan for the election year will take place at Thursday’s State of the Union address. The message will center on the preservation of democratic institutions, as it has in previous years.
To get ready to vote, check out our Voter Guide to find out who’s running for president and how they stand on important issues.
Though it may sound familiar, the 2024 campaign is different from its predecessor by a significant margin. A new political landscape is taking shape as a result of global and candidate shifts, posing new difficulties for all contenders but notably Biden.
Trump attacked Biden in his victory speech at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, describing him as “the worst president in the history of our country” and mentioning that “Nov. 5, it’s right around the corner.” The general election was also Biden’s point of emphasis in his written statement. “Today, millions of voters across the country made their voices heard,” according to him, “showing that they are ready to fight back against Donald Trump’s extreme plan to take us backwards.”
The present president has fallen behind his predecessor in national and swing state polling during the past few months.
How will 2024 be different? Incumbents are going head-to-head this time.
Since Biden was running against Trump in 2020, he could attack Trump’s record without having to defend his own.
Think about immigrants. Trump separated families at the border and used angry rhetoric to warn of the risks of migrants. He also enacted tough and contentious regulations. Biden campaigned for president in 2020 on a platform of increased compassion, saying that his policies would reflect the ideals held by the American people.
Since he is currently the president, Biden is responsible for the escalating issues along the southern border.
He has recently branded the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers there a “border crisis” and supported measures that may temporarily shut down the border and speed up deportations. His earlier stated goal of establishing a citizenship pathway for “Dreamers,” or children brought to the United States illegally, is now absent from his speeches.
According to a January NBC News survey, Trump has the upper hand against Biden on the issue of border security and immigration management. Trump would fare better than Biden in this situation, according to the poll takers, by a wide margin of 35%.
Republicans are still very much mobilized by this subject. North Carolina and Virginia GOP primary voters ranked immigration higher than the economy in Tuesday’s exit surveys.
The credibility of Biden’s foreign policy is being eroded.
Biden painted Trump as a danger to American ties and interests abroad in 2020, while highlighting his background in foreign policy.
However, his reputation as a reliable leader took a hit in 2021 when American forces were fatally misled during their departure from Afghanistan, killing thirteen American service members. A new crisis has arisen in the Middle East as a result of his backing of Israel’s military response to the terrible attack by Hamas six months ago. Protesters disrupted appearances by Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Joe Biden due to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has caused divisions within the Democratic Party.
The advocates’ call for Democrats to cast a “uncommitted” vote in response to Biden’s Gaza policy was a clear demonstration of their displeasure. In Tuesday’s Democratic primary in Minnesota, “uncommitted” garnered about 19% of the vote, while in Colorado, it garnered approximately 8%. In the previous Michigan primary, it had garnered slightly more than 13%.
Trump, on the other hand, has been very quiet regarding the dispute and potential resolutions, which is a privilege enjoyed by those who oppose him. Some people have lost their fear of Trump.
Trump has not lowered the volume of his statements. One positive aspect for him politically is that fewer people witness his attacks, which he regularly delivered in all caps, since he lost his primary minute-to-minute platform when he was banned from Twitter in 2021.
Furthermore, there are voters who choose to ignore language that may have been controversial in the past. People think it’s just Trump being Trump.
His nomination was unaffected by the 91 felony counts against him. On the contrary, it has rallied his loyal followers.
According to exit polls conducted in Virginia, a small percentage of Trump supporters ranked a candidate’s “right temperament” as the most crucial trait. Priority number one: almost 40% of voters want an official who “fights for people like me.” Half of those people also expressed a preference for someone who “shares my values.”
However, among Republican primary voters in North Carolina and Virginia, one-third and forty percent, respectively, felt that Trump would not be qualified to serve as president in the event of a conviction. That raises serious concerns.
The federal trials on charges of mishandling secret documents and aiming to overturn the 2020 election have been delayed due to court challenges and appeals. On the other hand, jury selection is set to begin on March 25 in the New York case involving charges of making hush-money payments.
As a group, we’ve aged.
The Republican Party has been using Joe Biden’s (now 81 years old) gaffes as proof that he isn’t mentally and physically fit to be president. Democrats point out that Trump, who is 77 years old and only four years younger than Nancy Pelosi, is also making mistakes, such as calling Barack Obama the current president and mixing Nikki Haley with Nancy Pelosi.
To a certain extent, that is a problem for Trump. Among Republicans in North Carolina, one-fifth said he lacked the mental and physical capacity to serve as president. According to three quarters, he did.
The matter is more problematic for Biden. Even though his advanced years weren’t a major factor in his 2020 victory, he became the oldest president in United States history at the age of 78.
It is now, after four years.
