With one presidential candidate having ninety-one felony charges against him, one having cocaine found in the White House during his administration, and another who pushes anti-vaccine misinformation; the 2024 presidential election is going to be one for the books.
Along with interesting candidates, politics and the government itself can get very confusing. Nevertheless, action from us and our community is essential this year. We need to exercise our civic duty to our country and elect a president who will ensure our voices are heard. To help you make an informed decision, we compiled a bit of information regarding the candidates for the 2024 presidential election.
To start, we have three main candidates. The first is seventy-seven-year-old Donald John Trump, who Dale Gardner, a political science professor at Parkland College, says is “a particularly bombastic candidate.” Gardner details that Trump has “a lot of enthusiasm among his party and has easily consolidated support.” He gets this support by being what Gardner calls “kind of heavy on negative campaigning.” Gardner further explains that Trump, the “republican candidate,” during his time in office, was focused on “the wall and protecting our Southern border.” Gardner said Trump also focused on “re-establishing new trade relationships with our major partners, especially places like China and Mexico.” Finally, Gardner detailed that Trump held a “little more standoffish approach to international relations.”
Our second candidate is eighty-one-year-old Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., who is our current President. Gardner explains that Biden “has a tried and true record behind him as well from a long time serving in the Senate and being the vice president and him being president.” Additionally, Gardner details that Biden’s record was tested when “…he came into office during the pandemic and things were falling apart but it got better.” Gardner added that he helped our country through “…support[ing] enough…pandemic era economic packages that helped support the economy during that unfortunate time.” Gardner explains Biden’s foreign policy as “…a more hands-on approach to foreign policy, supporting our traditional allies.” Moreover, Gardner adds that Biden has “been supporting a lot more firmness on the Southern border.”
The final major contender is seventy-year-old Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. Gardner commented that he is “honestly not too sure why he’s running.” He explains, “The biggest thing third parties are good at is kind of bringing new issues to the floor trying to emphasize whatever their cause is and I don’t see what his cause is.” The only big cause Gardner can see is “anti-vaccine stuff.” Further, Gardner says that RFK Jr. will struggle with just getting his name on the ballot. “Every state has different rules for getting on the ballot and he’s got to meet them in every state that he wants to win. That’ll take a lot of effort, so he’s going to have to find support.”
Now that you know some basics, go ahead and do a deep dive on the candidate that appeals to you. Do your research thoroughly and make sure to check if your sources are credible; remember, it is only the leader of our nation we are talking about.
