U.S. Presidential Election 2024
➡️ U.S. Presidential Election 2024 – Biden and Trump
November 5th will see American voters head to the polls to decide between the re-election of Democratic President Joe Biden and his predecessor Republican Donald Trump. This election will be the first presidential rematch since 1956, the winner of which is set to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025.
Voters will also choose new members of Congress in an election which is marred with apathy for both leaders and parties in this two-party binary. Key issues for voters include the struggling economy, healthcare, foreign policy regarding the Ukraine war and Gaza war, bloating military budget, climate policy, and gun laws. Disillusioned with the stance from congress and both parties, voter turnout is sadly expected to be low.
In our guide to the 2024 election discover essential background information, guides to the Democratic, Republican, and Independent candidates, analysis of the primaries and caucuses, and important polls and battleground states.
The implementation of strict voter ID laws, gerrymandering, challenges to voter registrations, and voting restrictions has historically supressed Black, Hispanic, and minority communities. We must uphold democracy and ensure a free and fair election for everyone.
Stay informed and use Better World Info’s guide to reliable news sources, voter groups, voter registration, key issues at home and abroad, and past presidential elections.
Unsustainable rising national debt, high levels of inflation, and the cost-of-living crisis are major issues for voters this term. Biden's narrative was to build the economy from the bottom up with a focus on infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy, and job creation.
Biden plans to increase corporate tax rates and to raise taxes for high-income earners. Trump however supports keeping both individual and corporate cuts introduced in his 2017 tax plan.
U.S. national debt is currently at $31.5 trillion and growing. This is causing slow economic growth, high interest rates, and puts the country at serious risk of financial crises.
The total number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. reached 10.5 million in 2021. This is just a small increase from 2019, and nearly identical to that in 2017. However, record numbers of migrants are arriving to the country from places that they cannot be deported back to.
Biden’s supposedly more humane approach to immigration saw him revoke many of Trumps border policies such as the refugee admissions cap. However, during his tenure he shifted to more restrictive measures and introduced a recent bill allowing the U.S. to close down the Mexican border at will.
Trump maintains that this bill does not go far enough and if re-elected he has promised to revive his previous policies, ‘seal the border’, and begin the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. He plans to end citizenship for children of undocumented migrants and wage a war on Mexican drug cartels.
Biden vs. Trump - Where they Stand on Key Issues
The U.S. has the world's largest military budget. At $916 billion in 2023, this accounts for 40% of total global military spending. Both candidates are committed to supporting Israel and their war on Gaza, continuing funding and exporting weapons to Ukraine, and engaging in hostile relations with China and Russia.
On Ukraine and Gaza, Trump has declared his desire to solve the issue quickly in the interest of not losing the PR war. Biden although showing unwavering support for Israel has openly criticised Prime Minister Netanyahu for his handling of the dire humanitarian situation.
Climate is a massively contentious issue this election. As the U.S. is the second largest emitter of carbon emissions, the world is watching.
Biden with his Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law the biggest climate law in U.S. history. He has focused on the green energy economy and set ambitious goals for cutting emissions. He has invested £22 million into large-scale wind and solar projects which will help to decarbonise the grid, but is just a small drop in the ocean.
Worlds apart on climate issues, a victory by Trump could result in 4 billion tons of additional U.S. emissions by 2030 (Carbon Brief). Trump rolled back 125 environmental protection policies and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement.
Trump was famously quoted saying that climate change is a ‘hoax' and his promises to eliminate renewable energy subsidies and ramp up domestic energy production are a testament to that.
Biden has named Trump an architect of the assault on reproductive freedom after the Supreme Court (with three Trump-appointed justices) overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022.
Since then, 21 states have introduced bans or restrictions on abortions. Biden has promised to reinstate women’s right to choose and to keep access to abortion legal as afforded by Roe.
Trump is the self-declared ‘person responsible’ for ending Roe. Since then, he has softened his approach, and his position is in support of individual states rights to determine their own rules. He has declined any support for a national law or a time limit on legal terminations.
The U.S. has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world and is the most costly basic expense for Americans. Biden lowered prescription costs for the elderly and fought to protect and expand the Obamacare health insurance programme. Despite this, 26 million people in the U.S. still do not have health insurance.
Trump and his Republican party are fierce critics of the Obamacare initiative and have suggested an overhaul of the system. He also wants to replace the Affordable Care Act but has yet to provide ideas for an alternative. Many fear a second Trump and GOP term would bring a gradual chipping away at social security and Medicare especially for senior citizens.
More than 40,000 people died in the U.S. from gun-related injuries in 2023. There were 350 school shootings in the same year. Between 2010 and 2020, gun-related deaths rose by 43%. Despite these shocking figures, Congress has repeatedly failed to pass any major gun-control legislation.
Biden has made the most progress on gun reform in decades by introducing enhanced background checks and greater restrictions. He banned the sale and manufacture of ghost guns, and has put pressure on Congress to pass a ban on assault weapons.
Trump has vowed to undo these new restrictions and stated that he will firmly protect gun rights. His stance is that the high death rate is not caused by guns but rather mental health issues. During his time in office, he weakened the few gun laws that did exist, and this time round he has promised that ‘no one will lay a finger on your firearms.’
Democracy in the U.S. - between a Rock and a Hard Place
In this tight presidential race, voters are heavily critical of both the Republican and the Democratic parties. Recent polls have revealed that half of all voters if they had the chance would replace both candidates. Faced with a similar situation as four years previously voters can’t be blamed for having little confidence in either.
Large divides have been found in voters' preference by age, education, and race and ethnicity. Similarly to 2020, younger voters and those with a college degree are more likely to vote Biden, whereas older voters and those without a college degree are more likely to vote for Trump.
Other factors to bear in mind include Trump’s pending criminal charges related to the 2020 election where he encouraged his supporters to question the elections integrity and ultimately led to the January 6th insurrection.
Voters should also be aware of attempts at voter intimidation, discriminatory voting procedures particularly in Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities, disinformation campaigns, and disenfranchisement all in the effort to gain partisan advantage.
Even given a situation where both options seem like two sides of the same coin, we must remember that political apathy is the silent killer of democracy. Educating ourselves on important issues and being aware of how political decisions effect our everyday lives is key.
The winning candidate will not only affect domestic and international policy, but they also have the power to nominate judges to federal courts and the Supreme Court. Your vote also has a huge impact on smaller races and helps decide who will run your local and state government.
It may feel like one vote is unimportant, but collectively our votes hold great strength. With voter's rights under threat, those who are eligible should use their vote to make it clear that they want their representatives to protect voting rights and ensure a fair and democratic election this year, and in all future elections to come.
Author: Rachael Mellor, 01.05.24 licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0
For further reading on the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election see below ⬇️
