Summary
Understanding the upcoming 2024 U.S presidential elections and the forerunners can't be complete without understanding past politics. The 2024 race is once again between Trump, who's under multiple indictments and trials, and Biden, the current U.S president. Do Americans hold much hope?
It could be said that the “unity” of the United States of America died in 2016 with the election of Donald J. Trump. It could be said that U.S lost respectability in 2020 with the fallout of the 6 January riots, otherwise known as the Insurrection at Capital Hill.
What’s it like facing the next presidential election after four years of an increasingly disgraced and fracturing nation?
It’s a reality as numbing as being used to the possibility of dying while in school or running errands. Being denied adequate reproductive rights at a federal level and hormone treatment at state level is normal. Americans are forced to pick between a bigot, an elderly man, and a series of nobodies trying to reach an audience on social media.
The main options are two men, both white and have previous political involvement as of 2024. The upcoming election is their rematch, whether anyone wants it to happen or not.
The rematch between Trump and Joe Biden
At the front running for the Republican party is Trump. He’s been considered a media personality, businessman, alleged federal criminal, alleged rapist, and convicted sexual abuser. He was also president for a single term, despite his insistence otherwise.
The Trump presidential stance relies on false exaggeration, racism, stereotyping and favouring the top one per cent in the American economic class system. His presidential actions and personal encouragements during his term led to series of deaths of coloured migrants, increased racial and political violence, and an inflated divide between the working class and the rich.
His Democratic opponent is Biden, who is also the frontrunner for his party and in his first presidential term.
Biden, an old man in his 80s, has been unapologetic of his international actions. The most notable decisions regard the Yemen bombings (see White House statement here) and the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Additionally, he has had a reputation of failing to respond to current national crises and what seems to be lack of interest in the American people’s interest. Shortly after his election in 2020, Biden faced riots allegedly encouraged by Trump and involved the U.S military and money into wars and conflicts that the American people didn’t want involvement in.
Voting Tendencies Skew
As an outsider, one would likely choose neither option to lead a country. As a voting American, one would choose the candidate that is “better than the other guy.”
Conservatives tend to vote red, or Republican. Republicans have evolved into a negative stereotype. Members are viewed as anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ+, pro-white and loud racists favouring the top one per cent in their policymaking, be it through tax cuts or insider trading.
Liberals tend to vote blue, or Democratic. Democrats have evolved into the stereotype of heavily pro-gender equality, pro-LGBTQ+ rights, education-driven and willing to attempt to address the poor socioeconomics of the country.
Media, divided by politics, fans the flames of division between the major parties.
Fox News was heavily conservative until media ratings dumped it from a news outlet into entertainment channel. Failed anchor Tucker Carlson’s ranting segments caused a drop in journalistic respectability. Conservative media like Fox News tend to exaggerate or rely on stereotypes of people of color, women and/or the LGBTQ+ community.
ABC reporting leans more progressively. Outlets with similar views often are viewed as overly sympathetic or failing to properly report by conservatives. Progressive media also has faults, jabbing at or underreporting conservative views in their news.
Both forms of media fail to report both sides, often falling back on the Associated Press News reporting for a version of an opposite view. Other outlets lean on AP News for full reports and exact quotes.
This leads to the outliers in voting.
Disheartening Reality
While the major parties focus on trusting their favored media, those who are independent voters or uninterested voters tend to be the “other” in voting results. Some vote as a joke to throw off the electoral college, an outdated means of election trumping the popular vote. Others vote for independent candidates, who rarely have a chance at winning due to lack of popularity or financial support for their campaigns.
The reality is, Trump or Biden will likely win whether the country wants them to or not. Media heavily pushes voting for either one because those are the best known governing options.
Presidential elections have been treated as jokes by some. Others treat the elections as unimportant.
The 2024 elections are a matter of life and death a large percentage of Americans. Depending on who wins, international relations are at risk.
Based on results, the world could change in an instant.
Depending on who wins, a nation will change.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels.com
