The political world came to a head on November 5, 2024. It has been consequential, quite crazy, and more eventful than the previous election. Two assassination attempts, terrible debates, candidates dropping out, criminal and civil charges, convictions, the list goes on and on. With the election just about two weeks away and the stakes higher than ever, we should reflect on everything that’s happened so far, and it will help us determine the future of the United States.
Our current president, former Delaware senator and former Vice President Joe Biden, and his predecessor, businessman and media personality Donald Trump, have both served as two of America’s most consequential presidents, alongside his first Vice President Mike Pence. Donald Trump’s first term was marked with scandal, allegations of corruption, and division. He is facing numerous criminal and civil charges. He is facing indictment for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden, and for being the mastermind behind the attacks on the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump’s legal troubles, stemming from his presidency and numerous business dealings have only piled up since leaving office.
Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election caused the professional relationship to decline with his former Vice President Mike Pence. In May 2023, he faced numerous ongoing civil cases due to sexual abuse and defamation against a journalist named Elizabeth Jean Carroll. He also faced civil charges for financial fraud related to his businesses, particularly his and his son’s handling of illegal activities within the Trump Organization. Then, in May 2024, Trump became the first-ever U.S. President to be convicted of a crime in relation to his hush money payments to pornography star Stormy Daniels through his former lawyer Michael Cohen. Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. Along with that, in his home state of Florida, he faces 40 criminal counts of mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. In Georgia, Trump faced 19 counts of racketeering charges, and four counts in Washington D.C. These numerous civil and criminal charges could pose trouble to Trump, who has denied and pleaded not guilty to any wrongdoing.
After Biden was sworn in, he selected Kamala Harris, the first-ever female Vice President. However, Biden’s approval rating has suffered due to rising inflation and illegal immigration, with additional concerns about his physical and mental fitness during his presidency. The war against Biden and Trump in 2020, during their behavior during their debate took away a sense of professionalism and respect in American politics. Given their old ages, Americans simply wanted younger candidates to lead the nation into a better future.
The potential rematch between Biden and Trump in the upcoming 2024 election. Both had successes and failures in their respective presidencies, but people wanted new leaders. However, Biden and Trump secured their nominations from their parties, and to the dismay of many in the country, it seemed like we would be getting another rematch between Biden and Trump. Biden and Trump contrasted on issues such as inflation, immigration, and abortion. Biden wanted to get the job done and find a new way forward, promising to restore Roe v. Wade and help solve the student loan issue. However, given Biden’s old age and mistakes during his presidency, Trump was leading in the polls.
Trump’s approval rating scored higher after July 13, 2024. While giving a speech at a rally in Butner, Pennsylvania, Trump was shot in the ear by 20-year old Thomas Matthew Cooks, who sprayed gunshots at the rally, killing a well-respected firefighter who died protecting his daughters from the gunfire, and injuring two others. In terms of a vice presidential pick, Trump refused to reinstate Mike Pence. Two days later, on July 15, 2024, Trump selected his new running mate, junior Ohio Senator JD Vance. Like Trump, JD Vance is a strong conservative Republican, siding with Trump on many things, particularly the abortion issue.
Donald Trump and JD Vance have announced their official campaign as Agenda 47, rather than the controversial Project 2025 agenda. Even though Trump has denied all association, it was drafted and published by several associates and important figures who worked for him during his first presidency. During his campaign, critics claim that Trump has made numerous false and misleading statements. They declared his ideas and policies as authoritarian, and something of a dictator. According to the infamous Project 2025 agenda, “Trump’s main goals during his campaign and presidency, if he wins, is to place a national federal abortion ban, terminate the Department of Education, begin the largest deportation operation in US history to clean America and deport all of the illegal immigrants, end research towards climate change, end LGBTQ rights, among others. He also wishes to use the Department of Justice to prosecute many of his political rivals”.
On June 27, 2024, Joe Biden and Donald Trump had their first presidential debate of the 2024 season in Atlanta, Georgia, on CNN News. Georgia was a key battleground state and was important for both of them to win. Heading into it, many were upset due to Biden’s age, and the consequential actions of Trump (given his legal troubles, lies, etc.) However, things went from bad to terrible for Biden really fast. He had to face many questions, but during the debate, Biden spoke in a hoarse voice, kept stammering, appeared to lose his train of thought, and failed to address important questions, issues, or his policies.
Trump, meanwhile, lied numerous times during the debate. He falsely claimed he built the greatest economy in the history of the country before the COVID-19 pandemic, criticized Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the rise of inflation. Trump also attacked Biden on his decisions regarding foreign policy, and “for spending billions of dollars on the wars between Ukraine and Russia”, and Israel and Hamas. Biden’s poor performance due to his declining physical and mental fitness, and Trump’s numerous lies, led to a disastrous and consequential debate.
After Biden’s debate with Trump, everything changed. Numerous prominent figures within the Democratic Party realized Biden’s chances of winning were slim against the case with Trump. They wanted to find a younger candidate to replace him. More than 30 senior Democrats called for Biden to withdraw from the race. He lost support from many of his prominent donors, particularly wealthy Democrats and Hollywood celebrities, such as Nancy Pelosi and actor George Clooney. Despite weeks of resisting, Biden eventually agreed to drop out. He claimed he dropped out to help defend democracy given the high stakes against Trump. He decided to pass the torch to a new generation, namely his Vice President Kamala Harris.
Once Biden was out, Harris moved in. She took over the Democratic nomination and wanted to encourage Americans to move forward, quickly launching her own campaign. Unfortunately, many other potential candidates, such as independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., were disregarded. Despite not winning any votes, Kamala Harris became the official Democratic nominee. She selected Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, to be her running mate. Trump celebrated in driving Biden out, but then set his sights on personally attacking Harris, often calling Biden the “worst President in history”, and Kamala Harris the “worst Vice President in the history of America”
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris had their first presidential debate on September 10, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, hosted by ABC News. Before the debate, the Democratic Party was much more confident with Kamala Harris as a candidate than Biden, as she began to have slightly higher polls to win the presidency than Biden did.
Donald Trump’s debate with Kamala Harris was incredibly chaotic, with numerous memorable moments. While it certainly solidified Harris as a candidate and reminded viewers of what Trump is like as a person, it didn’t do much to give confidence to voters. During his debate with Harris, Trump again made numerous false and misleading statements. Trump called Kamala Harris’s father “a Marxist professor and he taught her well”, when criticizing how bad the economy got under her and Biden. Kamala Harris criticized Trump for overturning Roe v. Wade, and she vows to reinstate it. She also criticized him for not allowing women to choose what to do with their bodies. Trump criticized her for wanting to “defund the police”, “allow illegal aliens into our country”. When criticizing Harris about her endorsement of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, Trump said “ I have concepts of a plan”, which became one of the most famous quotes.
On the contrary, Kamala Harris didn’t address any future policies should she win. Trump also criticized her for her handling of foreign policy, and her inability to meet and communicate with other world leaders which resulted in the Russia-Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas wars, the high inflation crisis under the Biden administration. Trump claimed “she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens who are and should stay in prison!”, which threw voters off. However, the most famous statement that came from Donald Trump was his claims of Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio and he said “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats, and they’re eating the pets of the people that live there!”. There was no evidence to support his claim.
Although many felt that Kamala Harris was the winner of the September 10 debate, the presidential race still remained tight according to the polls. However, Trump’s presidency and election runs in 2020 and 2024 have made the polls incredibly unreliable. As a result, the race is still tight as of right now. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were both tied nationally, and anything can happen. Soon after, Trump was targeted for assassination again, this time on his golf course near his Mar-A-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, by Ukrainian resident Ryan Routh, who believes that Trump will allow Putin to take over Ukraine if he wins the 2024 election. Trump survived.
Soon enough, JD Vance and Tim Walz had their own debate on October 1, 2024 in New York City. As of right now, Trump has gained a significant lead over Harris, but the race still remains deadlocked. However, JD Vance and Tim Walz had their debate, and it had many significant differences in comparison to Trump and Harris. JD Vance and Tim Walz praised for being civil to one another. However, there were significant issues discussed. A top issue was the economy. JD Vance stated that many of Kamala’s promises should have been instituted during her tenure as vice president. Walz claimed that JD Vance and Donald Trump don’t even believe the issue of climate change exists. Another memorable moment was the fact that JD Vance refused to answer when asked whether or not he believed that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, and Trump’s role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. However, Tim Walz also struggled to address certain policies and has issues with communicating and addressing issues. Both had strong performances though, although the majority believe JD Vance was the winner.
On November 5, millions of Americans all across the country went to their local polls to elect their next President and Vice President. Going into it, the polls seemed tight and deadlocked, hinting at the possibility that the election could result in a tie. The first states began with expected wins for both Trump and Harris. Trump won Kentucky, Indiana, while Harris won Vermont and Oregon. Throughout the night, several major news outlets kept audiences at home updated on the potential election results pending each of the fifty states. In terms of southern states, Trump had the lead. Trump won states like Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, with no problem. Harris won expected Democratic states such as her home state of California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Illinois, Virginia, Hawaii, and others.
However, it all came down to the key battleground states for both candidates to win to get the 270 electoral votes that they needed to win the presidency. The most important state was Pennsylvania. Early on, it seemed that Harris had a major lead, as well as in Arizona, Wisconsin, and Michigan, jeopardizing Trump’s chances for a 2nd term. However, that all changed in a way no one saw coming. Trump began to have close but staggering polls in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. Then, Trump managed to successfully flip the key battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan. In a final count, Trump reached 277 electoral votes against Kamala Harris’s 224 electoral votes, defeating her in a landslide. That’s not even counting Michigan, Nevada, Arizona, and Alaska, which are all leaning toward Trump. If he wins all of those states, his electoral vote count will rise to 312 votes by the electoral college. Outside of the presidency, the Republican Party successfully won the Senate 52-42 votes, and they are on track to win the House of Representatives, the score right now is 218 Republicans, 208 Democrats. Whoever gets 218 votes wins the House, so the Republican Party has full control.
The messy and consequential 2024 election has finally come to an end. Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025. He is the first president to be elected in two non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892. JD Vance will be inaugurated as the 50th Vice President of the United States that same day. Winning the Senate and the House of Representatives, this is a major win and political comeback for the Republican Party. This election will go down in history as a very consequential and close election, and the outcome of Donald Trump’s victory will define what the United States, and most likely the world, will look like in the next four years, and for generations to come.