Biden vs Trump

THE stage is set for an election rematch between US President Joe Biden (81) and his predecessor Donald Trump (77) in November after they secured their parties’ presidential nominations with thumping victories in key primaries this week. Biden will formally be declared the party’s candidate during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, while Trump will be officially nominated at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. This will be the first presidential rematch since 1956, when Republican Dwight D Eisenhower had defeated his Democratic rival Adlai Stevenson for the second time in four years.

Both Biden and Trump are likely to give no quarter to each other on the campaign trail. The incumbent President has warned that the threat Trump poses is greater than ever. Appealing to voters to make a choice for the sake of the country’s future, he has asked them: ‘Are we going to stand up and defend our democracy or let others tear it down?’ Pulling no punches, Trump has dubbed Biden the worst President in US history. What makes the 2024 contest starkly different from the one fought in 2020 is that Trump is facing over 90 felony charges. Later this month, he will become the first former American president to go on trial in a criminal case; he is accused of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star. It’s obvious that Trump’s legal battles will run parallel to his electoral campaign, and he will leave no stone unturned to play the victim card to consolidate his vote bank.

It’s hard to say whether Americans will be voting for the better candidate or the lesser evil. A new opinion poll sums up the state of affairs: about 36 per cent of the respondents say they trust Trump, while 33 per cent believe in Biden; the rest trust neither. Around one in five Americans has an unfavourable impression of both the current and the former President. Whether this significant group votes — and for whom — will have a bearing on the poll outcome.

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#Donald Trump #Joe Biden #United States of America USA