Jacob Francy, '26
The 2024 Presidential Election is coming up soon, so it’s time to check in on who the candidates and possible-candidates could be.
Democrats:
Joe Biden (46th U.S. President):
Biden is completing his first term as President. He carries a 42.5% approval rating mostly due to his moderate policy. Republicans dislike him, because they view him as “too left” while Democrats dislike him, because they think of him as “too centrist” or “too moderate”. Biden’s age is also a big factor. Already being the oldest President in U.S. history, he would leave office after his second term at 86 years of age. Even though news networks don’t cover Biden’s accomplishments, he has achieved a number of solutions while in office. Lowering drug and healthcare costs, passing the Inflation Reduction Act (which will create up to 9 million jobs over the next decade while reducing premature deaths from air pollution, while helping the US dramatically reduce climate change-causing emissions), passing the biggest gun reform in modern gun violence history, funding $10 billion into mental health and suicide prevention areas, cancelling up to $20,000 of student loans for tens of millions, reducing the cost of gas by releasing oil from the National Strategic Reserve, and naming the first black woman to the Supreme Court as a Justice are some of his most notable ones to be mentioned.
Marriane Williamson (Author, former Spiritual Advisor to Oprah Winfrey, 2020 Candidate):
Williamson, although earning 1% of Democratic primary votes last election, has gained more popularity over the last couple of years. She presents herself as a “real” person and not a politician. A positive of her campaign is her unique and independent approach to policy. She supports keeping abortion, a typically liberal stance, while she also is against major gun reform, a usually conservative idea. The largest negative is how she would actually get her ideas done. Williamson, when answering questions, acknowledges a goal but never mentions how she will achieve such plans. A quote that sticks with me from a Democratic primary debate in 2020 is when she was asked about the falling economy. She isn’t necessarily a candidate with experience in economics, yet she quickly answered, “We don’t need a plan.” She went on a rant about morality and ethics, but how effective is that approach while in the Oval Office?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Environmental lawyer, Robert Kennedy’s son):
Like his dad and uncle who both ran for President, Junior will now take his chance. Kennedy is a huge supporter of the natural environment. During George W. Bush’s time as President, Kennedy was a critic of his work because of his approval of different machineries like the hydrogen car. Kennedy went so far as writing a book about the administration’s work. In 2012, he went on national news again in support of President Obama, blaming the economic fall on Congress instead of Obama who was indeed working extremely hard for a compromise at the time. Kennedy, although liberal, has been known for recently joining conservatives by spewing major false conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines. The Children’s Health Defense, a huge anti-vaxx group, is now growing due to Kennedy’s influence. Kennedy told the classic “vaccines cause autism” argument, and in January at a rally, referred to a vaccine mandate as worse than “Nazi, Germany”. He may be a Democrat, but he surely has a huge outlier in his political views.
Pete Buttigieg (U.S. Secretary of Transportation, former South Bend, IN Mayor, 2020 Candidate; Has not officially announced campaign):
Pete Buttigieg made a landmark as the closest an openly gay man has been to possibly winning the White House in 2020. One of his best qualities is Buttigieg’s ability to speak well and convincingly. Some of Obama’s former cabinet members say he reminds them, “of Obama in the way he interacts with people.” A former naval officer, he has an extremely diverse background as a gay, navy lieutenant, mayor, cabinet member, as well as a Harvard and Oxford graduate. Buttigieg shares major liberal political ideals through and through. In February, a train in Ohio carrying toxic gasses derailed and spilled out tons of chemicals. Buttigieg was caught under fire during this time as the Transportation Department refused to reinstate the safety rules that Former President Trump removed in his administration, because Buttigeig said he wants to, “split inside the rules even further” to be more effective. Besides his solution, Buttigieg is still criticized for his response and inaction to change the train safety rules immediately.
Republicans:
Donald Trump (45th U.S. President):
Trump has been in the news a lot lately, and not for the best reasons. After leaving office with an insurrection on the U.S. Capitol due to the false claims that he won the 2020 Presidential election, he has yet to keep his name out of the media. Trump is currently being charged with falsifying business records, inciting the January 6 insurrection, possessing classified documents, and election interference when he asked the Georgia Secretary of State to give him more votes in the 2020 election. Even with all of the events happening, he is still currently projected to be the front-runner in the 2024 presidential election. Trump would be the first President to be elected back into office after being impeached, which happened twice in his four-year term. His policy remains the same as it was in 2016 and 2020. He will focus mainly on the economy, which he says “Biden ruined”, even though his economy (even pre-COVID) had worse percentages when it came to GDP, unemployment, etc. Could he be a “win, lose, win again” president?
Nikki Haley (U.N. Ambassador, former South Carolina Governor):
Haley has been a big name in the party recently as she is the biggest up-and-coming woman for the Republicans. She has had plenty of experience at her age, as both a former United Nations ambassador under Donald Trump’s administration and South Carolina’s governor. Haley appeals to the far-right, as she is a pro-life, gun rights, and anti-LGBTQ+ candidate. She embodies a more moderate stance since she includes full support of aid to Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war in her policy. Even though she could be a great, diverse pick on the Republican side, she is only polling at 3% for the primaries. There doesn’t seem to be much hope for her campaign.
Ron DeSantis (Florida Governor and former Congressman; Has not officially announced campaign):
DeSantis is one of the two likely Republican nominees, along with former President Trump. He has been one of the most talked about potential candidates, plus one of the most controversial. The governor had a recent, epic national fight with Disney. DeSantis signed his “Don’t Say Gay” Bill, which prohibited teachings or even mentionings of LGBTQ+ topics up until the end of high school, plus many other bills that took rights away from transgender and other minority groups. Disney has protested the actions of DeSantis while they were the highest profiting business in Florida. DeSantis tried to overtake the land but failed miserably. He is continuing to let the straight, white, males take control of the state, given more rights. Even though DeSantis is running against a former President, he is more appealing because of his younger age, yet similar policy.
Mike Pence (Former U.S. Vice President, Former Indiana Governor; Has not officially announced campaign):
Pence, although almost invisible in his Vice Presidency, actually became a bigger name after his time working in Trump’s administration. On the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, many attackers were chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” because Pence, who was in charge of certifying the ballots of the 2020 Presidential election, didn’t overturn any of the votes. By law, he is unable to do so, even though President Trump urged him to act. After calling the attack, “one of the scariest moments of my life,” Pence spoke out against Trump, although only for that day. Every other policy or news story about Trump, Pence continues to follow him and tries to ride on the back of the beast in hopes of remaining as Trump's Vice Presidential candidate, which according to former Trump staffers, is “extremely unlikely.”
Celebrities:
Ye West (Artist, 2020 Candidate):
If you haven’t heard about Kanye this last year, boy do you have some material to catch up on. Ever since his ex-wife, Kim Khardashian divorced West, he went off the rails. From attacking his ex-wife’s boyfriends to ... well, now this. In October, Kanye made “White Lives Matter” sweatshirts that went on sale on his website. A couple days later, West tweeted he would go “death-con 3 on Jewish people.” Everyone turned on him quickly, and rightfully so. His viewership plummeted, and he lost endorsements from Adidas, GAP, Balenciaga, etc. Even his agency dropped him. The following month, West was spotted having lunch with Donald Trump and “white nationalist/Holocaust-denier” Nick Fuentes. Later, Kanye went on the Alex Jones show where he went all in, “Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler… I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to the Nazis… I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis… I do love Hitler. I do love Zionists.” Now, hopping back onto the subject of this article, do you believe this man is running for President? Yeah, me neither.
Joe Exotic (The Tiger King!):
‘Tiger King’ star, Joe Exotic, is actually running for the White House. He originally sought the Libertarian party’s nomination, but in April, he switched to the Democratic party. Prison reform, criminal justice reform, ending complete immunity, immigration, lowering taxes, foreign affairs, political term limits, and social security/medicare are all large parts of Exotic’s platform.