The Candidates:

With both Donald Trump and Joe Biden passing the delegate thresholds for nominations, the 2024 presidential election will feel like Groundhog Day for many Americans, as they made the same decision in 2020. The Republican nominee is the 78 year old Former President Trump who was a previous business man and reality television host. The Democratic nominee is incumbent Joe Biden, a previous senator and Vice President under Barack Obama, who is 81 years old. With the ticket a repeat of the 2020 election, voters will be familiar with the two opponents, who have been contesting each other for over half a decade now.

With so much familiarity with the candidates, many voters’ attitudes towards the two have grown increasingly extreme. This has only heightened with Trump recently being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in order to cover up payments meant to hide an alleged sexual encounter. Both candidates have spent the past months campaigning and gathering their loyal bases, and on June 27 they came face to face for an official presidential debate. The two will once again match up on the debate stage in September, before the election in November.

Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Donald Trump:

The Republican candidate, Donald Trump, was president from 2017-2021. Running again in the 2020 election, he lost to Joe Biden, and is now seeking to fulfill a second term. He is running again in 2024, and if elected it would mark his second term. Before he was president, Trump was a businessman and hosted a reality TV show for entrepreneurs called The Apprentice, which aired from 2004-2017. When he began his campaign for the 2016 election, he quickly gained media attention for his unconventional style of campaigning, which included controversial speeches and an avid use of social media, specifically Twitter. He was later banned from Twitter, and turned his social media efforts to a platform of his own creation, called Truth Social. His platform was originally quite popular, but has since declined in usage. Since his start in the political world, he has been largely criticized for his sharing of misinformation, which helped him gain the attention of uninterested voters and created media attention.

Image: PBS

In the case of Trump’s policies, he focuses a lot of his efforts on discussing the economy and deregulation. He has continuously attacked China, as well as argued for tax cuts in the U.S. One of his most famous phrases in 2016 was that he would build a wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. His claims underscore his strict immigration policies, such as advocating for an end to birthright citizenship for the children of non-citizens and illegal immigrants. He has also imposed travel bans on individuals deemed to pose a security threat. Trump was also a proponent of merit-based immigration which would prioritize skilled immigrants rather than families, and expanded efforts to identify, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants. When COVID became critical in the U.S. and across the world, Trump enacted a policy of allowing states to decide how to shut down, and how to implement health policies.

In 2024, Trump has continued his unconventional style of speeches and communicating with voters. He hosts rallies in many states that draw in his loyal supporters. After almost a decade of Trump in the political world, his following has become a large mass of supporters who have made him and opposition to his opponents their political identity. Continuing to use controversy and his base to propel him, Trump is seeking a second term this year. Attacking his democratic opponents for the economy, inflation, foreign spending, and immigration have been his main strategies. If reelected in 2024, Trump would be the second U.S. president to serve non-consecutive terms.

Joe Biden:

The Democratic nominee for president is the incumbent Joe Biden. He has served as president since 2021, and before that he was Barack Obama’s vice president. Obama served two terms from 2009-2017. Biden is a career politician who was a Senator from Delaware from 1973-2009. The incumbent is seeking reelection after defeating Donald Trump in the 2020 election. A mainstay in American politics for such a long time, Biden is both praised for his political experience and criticized for his age and health.

Biden campaigns on multiple issues, including the climate crisis and the environment. Upon his inauguration as president, he immediately rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump had left during his term. Biden has also initiated ambitious climate policies, seeking to reduce carbon emissions and increase investments in clean energy and infrastructure. He has used legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to achieve goals in environmental policy. Despite these efforts, President Biden also agreed to the Willow Project, a large oil-drilling operation in Alaska, expected to produce massive amounts of carbon dioxide. As president, Biden has taken aim at strengthening healthcare, such as with the Affordable Care Act to reduce prices of prescription drugs and with expanding Medicaid. He also supports the American Rescue Plan, which would expand health insurance coverage and payment.

Image: Bloomberg

Joe Biden has taken an extensive approach in his foreign policy as well. After Trump’s presidency, Biden sought to re-engage with NATO, and to rebuild diplomatic ties across the world. He has focused on strategically competing with China, managing Russia’s actions, and using international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement to bring the U.S. back to the forefront of international relations. He has remained strong in his support for Ukraine, and has provided a lot of support to U.S. allies. Recently, Biden has been criticized for his policies towards the Middle East, especially in Gaza.

Third Party Candidates:

While historically only candidates from America’s most established parties have achieved victory, there are some third party candidates running for president in 2024. Most notably is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer, and the son of politician Robert F. Kennedy who was assassinated in 1968. RFK Jr. has been polling at just below 10% on the national scale. Kennedy is an independent candidate who is seeking election despite the historical precedent of only Republican or Democratic candidates being elected. Other independent candidates include Cornel West, a professor and philosopher, Jill Stein, a progressive activist and doctor, and Chase Oliver, also an activist. These independent candidates are unlikely to significantly oppose Trump or Biden, but could take a small percentage of votes from either one.

Senior Problem:

Currently Donald Trump is 78 years old, while Joe Biden is 81. This has been a topic of discussion in American politics for some time, but has been a pressing issue during the 2024 election cycle. Having the two main candidates be older citizens has caused voters to question the ability for either of them to effectively lead the country through 2028. Many have questioned the reasoning behind nominating two older candidates, especially when the bulk of the population is well below the candidates’ ages themselves. To some, it may feel that they are not represented in the way that they hope when electing a president. Although presidential candidates have historically been middle-aged and even relatively old, the senior problem has heightened as younger Americans are becoming able to vote. For those who will be voting in their first presidential election in 2024, they will have likely been watching both Trump and Biden on the national stage since they were young. With Biden being Obama’s vice president as well, it is evident that new voters may be feeling fatigued at the lack of diverse options for president this year. With this frustration of younger voters, many have called for a solution to this issue and are looking to younger politicians to run in upcoming elections.

Looking Ahead:

Ahead of the November 2024 election, these candidates will be fighting to gain an edge in the polls. Both Trump and Biden will be making appearances with rallies and interviews across the U.S., especially in contentious battleground states. As the June debate put the two campaigns fully in the public eye, they will likely be regrouping and preparing to swing potential voters in the coming months. Biden will likely be seeking to achieve some legislative successes to build off for the election, and Trump will continue to pressure Biden through his large public presence. For Americans, the 2024 election proves to be the crucial event of the year.

A Look at the 2024 Presidential Candidates

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