EDITOR’S NOTE: Before you read this article, we want to make sure you, the reader, are on the same page as us, the people writing this. This article is strictly an opinion piece. Any claims made that are not supported by a source (whether that be a statistic, quote, etc.) are our opinions and should be treated as such. We are not pretending to be experts, so please keep that in mind throughout this article. Alongside hyperlinking our sources, we will include additional sources from which we gathered general information at the bottom of this article.
Content warning: This article contains topics such as sexual assault, racism, gun violence and war.
The media circus around the election and subsequent re-election of Donald Trump tells a bleak story plagued by uncertainty and fear due to a system and the coverage surrounding it that trips over itself and encourages deep division at every turn.
President Trump’s spotlight in the political sphere began with the shocking “Grab ‘em by the p****” commentary leak back in 2016 with his ever-evolving MAGA fanbase who have refused to ease their support (even when Trump was not in office) serving as a testament to how strong his influence has been.
The fruits of Trump’s work have led to an increasingly polarized nation. With the human-rights-focused People’s March in Washington, D.C., familial division, the boycotting of his inauguration by a sleuth of state representatives (and former first lady Michelle Obama) and his at times cult-like fanbase: it is apparent that the America of today is a house divided against itself.
Many questions have flown around the presidency, but the one we intend to shed light on is this: How did we get to such a divided and saturated place? In order to properly respond to this question, we decided to investigate the major points in Trump’s return to the executive office and the 2024 presidential election.
Origins: 2016 United States Presidential Election
9/11 Precursor
Prior to talking about where this division began, we want to emphasize that we are only concerned with the 21st century in this article. There are two reasons for this.
First, we are simply too young, and second, is relevance. Apart from broader societal issues like the systemic oppression of non-white people and women, all the context needed for the subject at hand has happened within the past 25 years. We acknowledge that – obviously – the 2016 election was not the first time there has been division in this country and that throughout our country’s history, there have been countless examples of events and decisions that have divided the American people and/or created conflict between citizens and the American government.
However, the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and the American government’s response did happen in the past 25 years and deserves to be mentioned. The attacks and the subsequent response from the American government created a pendulum swing that started with bringing Americans together in a way that almost nothing could or can today to creating distrust between American citizens and their government.
The Afghanistan and Iraq wars that made up much of the greater war on terror ultimately undid the collective spirit manifested by the 9/11 attacks and led to greater division within the American population. A sentiment of distrust and dissatisfaction manifested towards the American government. Carroll Doherty and Jocelyn Kiley in their article for the Pew Research Center decipher that,
We will not dive any deeper than that in this article, as there is a vast amount of information on the subject, but it is important to acknowledge the impact and influence Sept.11 had on American society. With that out of the way, let us move on to the infamous 2016 United States presidential election.
Clinton v. Trump
As mentioned, it is no surprise that politics are often closely associated with the quality of
divisiveness. However, the 2016 presidential election, which had its two primary candidates, Trump and Hillary Clinton, competing for the coveted presidential win, marked a point in American politics that has ultimately shifted today’s political climate within the 21st century to be unprecedentedly polarizing.
In one corner was Clinton, who became the first woman to get the nomination of a major political party, and Trump, who, to the surprise of many, was able to seal the Republican nomination despite coming from a background with no prior political experience.
For many Republicans, Trump’s unorthodox background and personality made him an enticing choice for those frustrated with the Republican party and Barack Obama’s presidential reign.
Although Trump’s unconventional demeanor may have set him apart, it was not entirely for the right reasons. While some saw him as bold and fearless, others saw him as abrasive and unqualified. The latter became incredibly apparent through a long line of controversial remarks he made during his 2016 campaign, which often came off as offensive, racist, and as if he was better suited to be a former star rather than a presidential leader.
Notably, referring to Mexican immigrants, Trump said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. … They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Another one of his most infamous quotes during his 2016 campaign was in reference to Senator John McCain when he said, “He’s not a war hero. He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.”
These quotes, however, are only a slight glance into the countless other controversial statements during his campaign run. Yet, while publicly having multiple scandals and making statements like these that gave him the reputation of being offensive and racist, he was still able to win over Clinton, at least electorally. On election night, Clinton was overwhelmingly able to secure the popular vote by around 2.9 million. In contrast, Trump comfortably secured the electoral college vote, proving the country was politically split.
It was not that Clinton herself was the perfect presidential candidate, as she did have her flaws and scandals. However, the willingness to overlook all of Trump’s controversies, with many on the right heavily adoring and idolizing him regardless of whatever he said or did, brings up the interesting question of whether Clinton would have had a more feasible shot of winning the election had she been a man.
While many downplay Clinton’s loss as having nothing to do with her gender, the recent 2024 presidential election results, with former Vice President Kamala Harris losing to Trump, has reiterated the concern that the United States will always choose a man over a woman, even if it means that man proves himself as not worthy of the position.
Many say that the country has not been the same since Trump entered the political sphere. Whether one believes that is for the better or the worse, his impact has undeniably made politics an incredibly divided space as a result of his radicalized policies and ideals.
Joe Biden’s Presidency and COVID-19
No one’s first choice
Taking into consideration his age, track record and policies, Biden was not most people’s first choice to go against Trump. Once again we found ourselves up against the beast of choosing the lesser of two evils. Yes, Biden was older and there was concern if he would even be able to survive a full term while in office, but still, the American people voted him in, even though it had to do more with not wanting Trump in office than explicitly wanting Biden.
COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic shut down everything from businesses to graduations to in-person funerals. An evolving and ever-present threat to public health, the virus was one of the chief talking points in Biden’s campaign, met by rolling out a 200-page plan on day one.
The 2020 team inherited a capsized economy and a rising death toll. A response of billions of dollars towards COVID relief, mass vaccinations and an introduction of the American Rescue Plan helped the United States to bounce back with shiny accolades like “longest stretch in 50 years” of 4% or lower unemployment and “record-breaking” amount of jobs created.
Despite these economic positives, there were two large issues. The first is that citizens were too busy mourning to care, and the second is the much larger issue that many Americans were not feeling the post-COVID upturn.
The death toll of COVID spiked up to 1 million by mid-2022, with over 600,000 taking place under Biden. Although factors like anti-vax crowds and local governments reopening cities too soon can be cited, holding the current record for COVID deaths according to the World Health Association is a damning superlative to be given.
On top of that, local business closures and the looming shadow of an unsatisfactory cost of living caused many Americans to turn their back on the administration and call the recovery a failure.
Biden’s health
In 2021, Biden was 78 years old, making him the oldest president upon entering office until recently, when Trump’s 2024 win overtook that record by a few months. While these feats have been historical, they have also caused the American people to question and doubt these presidents’ physical and mental capabilities of running the country.
In fact, concerns about Biden’s diminishing cognitive state became a notorious trademark of his presidency, with Trump and the right-wing media often calling him “Sleepy Joe.” As much as nicknames and insults have been a large part of Trump’s political strategy in bringing down various opponents, it became difficult for the left (or anyone) to deny that there might be some truth to Biden’s age taking a toll on his presidential reign.
This especially came to light after Biden’s performance at the presidential debate against Trump this past June, as he stumbled over his words, seemed spaced out and occasionally gave commentary that lacked coherency. Considering the midst of an upcoming election with a heavily controversial opponent who has run a cult-like fan base in Trump, the prospect of Biden re-running for election was not promising and did not evoke much – if any – inspiration for the country’s future.
It is expected that politics should carry a level of professionalism. However, when the American people watch two elderly men argue about golf in a debate to become the President of the United States, it is an embarrassing reflection of the state of U.S. politics. To no shock, being a president is a crucial role in governing the people, and at its core, should be the focus rather than if the president can even govern their well-being.
Ultimately, this has led many voters, especially in younger demographics, to want younger elected officials in office. Each generation faces its unique challenges, and those recently coming into adulthood deserve politicians who can represent and advocate for those challenges. So when Biden dropped out of the 2024 election a month after the debate, endorsing his vice president Kamala Harris, many saw what looked to be a hopeless election between the lesser of two evils as a breath of fresh air with a younger and more promising candidate.
International Affairs
The long-standing war between Ukraine and Russia started in February 2014. The situation became dire when a series of rapid developments were made when Putin commanded Russian troops to invade Ukraine calling them “Peacekeepers” on Feb. 24, 2022. Soon after the invasion started, explosions followed in populated Ukraine cities. In reaction to this, the West started making different bans on the Russian financial groups, showing that the West stood with Ukraine.
The United States supported Ukraine in a multitude of ways. Financially, the U.S. has given more than 66.5 billion dollars to Ukraine. But, we have given more than just money. More than 80,000 military members have been sent. Some of them trained the Ukraine military, others were there for defense around Europe, etc. Biden himself warned that if Russia further invaded, that America and its allies were ready to respond. However, some were worried that Biden went too far as the U.S. provided fighter jets to Ukraine, even though Russia said they would escalate their attacks if the U.S. went through with it.
There were further concerns about Biden and his administration’s response to the Russian invasion and war with Ukraine. There was public outcry that Biden failed to grow America’s reputation as being a powerful country with his response. Additionally, some said that the bans the West implemented were not effective in slowing down Russia. One of the biggest concerns was that Biden did not put much effort into resolving matters using diplomacy, rather we were pushing for war instead.
The war between Israel and Hamas has been extremely severe. Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip so extensively that the number of explosives at the start of 2024 was equal to two nuclear bombs. These attacks have been found to be “acts of genocide” on Israel’s part, and rights expert, Francesca Albanese, found “…reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide…has been met.” On top of that, “Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip…” in this report.
These elements include a large number of civilian deaths, and unlivable conditions for Palestinians caused on purpose by Israel and Israel taking steps to stop births in Gaza. Israel does not agree with calling their attacks a genocide. Biden’s response has not helped very much though, as he has publicly supported Israel. His response has been said to try to influence Israel to hold back on the bombings and try to get some help to Gaza. Although, this has not had an effect. Additionally, Biden asked the government for 14 billion dollars to help support Israel. Many think his actions have permitted Israel to keep attacking Gaza. Moreover, some have expressed that his actions and words have not put a lot of importance on Palestinian lives, implying that their lives are less important.
Hurricane Helen and Milton
This past fall, within weeks of each other, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton proved to be a highly devastating catastrophe to millions of livelihoods in the southeastern region of the United States. With over a hundred deaths, severe property damage, businesses destroyed and combined damage of an estimated 300 billion dollars, many Americans were left vulnerable and wondering where to go from there.
However, this was not the only area of confusion, as Trump and the right-wing media reported substantial discrepancies construed with misinformation in regards to how the Biden-Harris administration distributed aid and managed recovery efforts.
According to FEMA, “The Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $1.8 billion in federal assistance for individuals and communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” alongside working with FEMA to [deploy] “…more than 4,400 personnel to the affected areas, working side by side with over 8,000 federal responders to support state and local governments in their recovery efforts.”
While that is only a portion of how the Biden-Harris administration responded to the aftermath of both hurricanes, many of Trump’s claims paint an entirely different story. At a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, Trump claimed, “While families desperately tried to escape the rising floodwaters and they climbed onto roofs, they did anything they can to live…. Kamala didn’t send any helicopters to rescue them. And when people sent helicopters, they turned them back. … . So she didn’t send anything or anyone at all. Days passed, no help, as men, women and children drowned.” Trump attributes this alleged lack of help to the Biden administration intentionally “going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.”
Trump’s narrative was then further fabricated as he made false accusations, accusing FEMA of using its money towards the funding of illegal immigration, stating, “They had no money. You know where they gave the money? To illegal immigrants coming in, many of whom are killers…”
Not only did none of Trump’s claims have any factual basis, but they turned a national tragedy into facets of harmful conspiracy theories that have only served to help himself. This was not about genuine concern for the people affected by the hurricanes but rather a tool to further push an agenda of incompetency from the Biden-Harris administration while also escalating the fears many conservative voters have towards illegal immigration.
Closing thoughts on Biden
Ultimately, Biden was able to come through on most of his promises. In 2024, a presidential survey was done placing Biden in fourteenth place out of forty-five previous presidents. That position is questioned though, because of him pardoning his son and for not exactly accomplishing all of the promises that he made. Considering what he walked into and the events that happened throughout his time in office, a slightly colder than room temperature ok is how we think many will remember Biden’s presidency, whether that reflects how well he did is for you to decide.
The 2024 Election
Elon Musk’s Influence
Though the 2024 election can be remembered for many things, one aspect that has to be mentioned when talking about the election is Elon Musk and his role in how the election played out. First off, Trump had already been banned from formerly known as Twitter, now known as ‘X’ when Musk bought the platform in late October 2022. Trump had been banned from Twitter [X] since January 8, 2021, due to his posts on the platform that followed his supporters storming the U.S Capitol on January 6, 2021, which the platform said “…were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
That all changed when Musk reversed Trump’s ban on X after posting a poll asking users whether or not he [Musk] should reinstate Trump shortly after taking over the platform, in which the final tally showed 51.8% in favor and 48.2% opposed to reinstating Trump, with a total of 15 million votes. Trump did not immediately use the platform after being unbanned but when he returned 278 days after Musk said he would be reinstated, he posted his mug shot after “…he surrendered to face charges of trying to steal the 2020 election in Georgia…” This at least showed Musk’s willingness to work with Trump and his apparent indifference to Trump’s antics, possibly un/intentionally planting a seed for their now well-covered partnership.
Leading up to the election, Musk’s efforts to make X as pro-Trump as possible were successful. Musk did and still does, consistently repost or interact with, content from far-right accounts such as End Wokeness and Libs of TikTok which often tend to be non-reputable. Musk’s posts, replies, and reposts, ranged from being biased and not telling the full story to blatant misinformation like this post and/or bait for engagement like his now-deleted post where he ambiguously questioned why there were assassination attempts on Trump but not on Biden’s campaign.
Musk’s behavior on his platform has enabled others to do the same, which made X become only more biased and influential leading up to and throughout the 2024 election. For a more in-depth analysis of just how much influence Musk’s platform has had, this article from PolitiFact and this article from NBC News do a good job of breaking down the complexities of the platform’s algorithm, Musk’s posting tendencies, and the statistics that all equate to his massive influence.
Kamala Harris’ Campaign
The brief timeframe Kamala Harris had was only one issue with the campaign. We cannot be shy in addressing the racism, misogyny or ample amounts of misinformation that buried Kamala Harris’s attempt at the presidency.
On the part of Harris, winning the election would have been a herculean effort. Former president Biden’s poor debate performances and dwindling approval ratings tipped the democratic party’s hand, concluding with Biden’s resignation from candidacy.
With just 107 days to campaign against Trump’s combined nine years of promotion, Harris was handed a burning ship and told to both put the fire out and steer the wreckage to victory. While Trump used every opportunity – including his own arrest and commentating on foreign wars – to push himself into the center of conversation and villainize the likes of states and judges, Kamala had to make up ground by not only introducing her policies but swaying deeply divided voters.
According to many news outlets including The New York Times, CNN and CBS, Harris raised over 1 billion dollars during her campaign despite the late start and set the record for the most money gained for candidacy in a single quarter.
Despite triumphs like this, Harris’s reception was often lukewarm and met with “show us your policies.”
In retrospect, promises like a $35 cap on life-saving medications like insulin, a bipartisan border-strengthening bill and a plan to make sure America’s economy “wins the 21st Century” over superpowers like China all sound like powerful talking points.
However, a large amount of this was lost in translation. Harris’s use of musical heavy-hitters like Beyonce, Megan Thee Stallion and Bon Iver came off heavy-handed to voters. While it may have made her desirable for youth in some circumstances, Megan Thee Stallion’s performance in particular further polarized conservative voters looking to cross the aisle.
In her abbreviated timespan, Harris’s platform and debate speeches – and therefore her viability – were often drowned in media backlash while Trump and Elon Musk’s followers ran interference via misogyny, fake ads, and accusations of foreign communist affiliations.
It was clear in this election that Kamala Harris was not only clawing against time but also against piles of dirt continuously poured onto her campaign by many sources.
Assassination Attempts on Trump
One other major talking point and situation that will forever be associated with the 2024 election was the two assassination attempts on Trump. The first which was the more life-threatening happened on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, at one of Trump’s rallies, in which, Trump was shot at and grazed by a bullet that hit his ear. Then came the second attempt, on Sept. 15, this time in Florida, at Trump’s Trump International Golf Club where Ryan Wesley Routh camped out for 12 hours waiting for Trump. Routh never shot at Trump as before Trump began the sixth hole, “an agent who was visually sweeping the area of the sixth hole’s green saw the subject, armed with what he perceived to be a rifle, and immediately discharged his firearm, said acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service.”
Now, we want to be extremely clear on this, in no way, shape or form, do we condone or approve of these attempts. With that said, it is extremely interesting to recount what Trump’s following moves were. First off, after the second attempt, Trump had an interview with Fox News Digital where he blamed Biden and Harris’s “rhetoric,” saying, “These are the things that dangerous fools, like the shooter, listen to — that is the rhetoric they listen to, and the same with the first one.” But even before the second attempt, Trump more directly blamed Biden and Harris in an interview with Dr.Phil saying,
Just those comments alone would be enough to make a valid argument that by blaming the assassination attempts on his opposition, Trump benefited. There are not many actual numbers that prove that, but numbers are not really necessary when common sense can tell anyone that a candidate blaming any assassination attempt on the opposition will likely hurt the opposition’s perception from the public.
But blaming the Democrats is not all Trump did, he also sought to profit. As Edith Olmsted wrote for The New Republic,
The assassination attempts on Trump ultimately generated massive publicity, and apart from the merchandise coming from Trump and his assets (companies, whatever you want to call them), it additionally opened the floodgates for people to make their own. The now iconic picture of Trump holding up his fist, with blood on his face, and the American flag in the background, perpetuated a sense of patriotism that Trump had embodied and instilled in his supporters since 2016, only making him seem more desirable and admirable to those who already supported him or were on the fence. Hence why we believe the assassination attempts greatly benefitted Trump in the election.
Trump and his party’s controversies
Donald Trump brings with him a large amount of controversy, and that was no different in the 2024 election. Here are a few of the significant examples.
First, during one of Trump’s election rallies, comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, made several racist jokes, one of them regarding Puerto Rico, a part of the United States. Hinchcliffe said, “There’s a lot going on. I don’t know if you know this but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico.”
A lot of people were urging Trump to speak up and publicly disagree with the comedian, which he delayed addressing. When he finally did, he stated that he did not know who Hinchcliffe was, who put him in the rally and stated, “I can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”
Moving on in the timeline, during one of the presidential debates, Trump brought up what he calls “black jobs” and how they are being taken by immigrants. He then started explaining how this would be the “worst thing in our history.”
Next, a very infamous part of a later debate, Trump spewed the fake rumors that Haitian immigrants living in Ohio were taking and consuming domestic pets. He stated, “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.” Later, JD Vance admitted that the story was untrue stating “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
These controversies demonstrate that even in his quest for the presidency, Trump and his party are tied to racism and lies.
The Result
There have been a large number of disagreements regarding Trump. Even writing that Trump is an obvious all-around awful human being is going to bring some pushback from his supporters. So here we will enumerate a few examples of Trump being sexist, misogynist, abusive, racist, homophobic and anti-democratic just to serve as a reminder as to who is leading our country and why that is problematic.
Trump’s problematic behavior
Starting with his abuse allegations, Trump had sexually assaulted a journalist, E. Jean Carroll, in a department store in 1996. Trump publicly said that her allegations were not sound because he does not find her attractive. Adding onto that, currently over 20 women have accused Trump of sexual assault. These reports include Trump kissing them while they did not give consent, him grabbing up skirts, and Trump walking into changing rooms that were in use with no permission.
Furthermore, he has been recorded saying, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy…”. It gets even worse though, he has also been reported saying to 14-year-old girls that he would be dating them “in a couple of years.”
Even Trump’s family is not exempt from his sexism and misogyny. Trump’s government aides have said he has made several sexual comments about his daughter Ivanka Trump. They have said that he has talked about her butt and breasts, and has pondered about what it would be like to have sex with her. It gets even more disgusting though. Trump describes at another time in an interview that his daughter is beautiful and “If I weren’t happily married and, ya know, her father …” insinuating that he would have sex with her.
Next, we will detail only a few examples of a long history of Trump being a racist. A former employee at Trump’s casino recounted that Trump and his wife at the time would visit in the ‘80s. When the two would enter the floor, all the African American employees would be moved to work in the back, this action implying that the duo did not want to look at them. In present-day, he has created a harmful stigma surrounding the coronavirus. Trump called it the “kung flu” as well as the “chinese virus.” This resulted in an uptick in attacks and general hate towards Asian Americans in the states.
In the third category we will go into Trump being a homophobe, he has demonstrated this belief by picking many anti-LGBTQ+ individuals to serve “the people” as judges. He has also gotten rid of many of the healthcare protections that Obama made for queer people under the Affordable Care Act. Pivoting this harmful belief towards even younger communities, he has removed protections for LGBTQ+ students, enabling parents, students, and staff to create an unsafe environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
These previous examples have shown that he is an awful person, but for the people who can somehow look past that, he has also shown that he does not put democracy first.
On June 1, 2020, there was a peaceful protest happening in the area between St. John’s Church and Lafayette Park when the National Guard and other police started using tear gas on the protesters for no discernable reason but the intention had soon become obvious. The crowd was tear-gassed so Trump could walk through to take photos in front of the church while holding a bible. Not very different from a dystopian novel, he said that he is “your president of law and order” and told state governors to send the National Guard to “dominate the streets.”
Additionally, there is the infamous example of the insurrection that occurred at the Capitol. On January 6, 2021, a huge mob of right-wing supporters attacked and successfully got into the Washington Capitol. Trump pushed the crowd to attack and attempt to stop the election results, declaring Biden the winner, from being certified. At a speech he was giving that day he spoke about the false theories of the election being stolen from him and told the crowd that they would have to fight or “you are not going to have a country anymore.”
Even further, he mentioned that the crowd should make their way to Pennsylvania Avenue, the street between the Capitol and the White House. After making their way to the Capitol, the mob broke down barricades, beat police officers, and got in. After entering, they began vandalizing and going through different offices. Lawmakers inside had to barricade themselves in different areas or evacuate if they had the time. In total 5 died in the insurrection while 140 police officers were injured.
Trump’s Vision
No matter what we think about Trump, he is the president, so we might as well look at what his plans are. Starting with the least serious and frankly silly goal of Trump to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.” Why? Ego.
Moving on to Trump’s more serious goals, he has also threatened to impose a 25% tariff on all imports coming from Mexico and Canada. Though he originally said these would be in place on his first day of office, that has yet to be the case. Whether or not he goes through with the tariffs is yet to be seen, but many believe “adding 25 percent to the price of imported products could make many too costly, potentially crippling trade around the continent. It could also invite retaliation from other governments, which could put their own levies on American exports. That, in turn, could cause spiking prices and shortages for consumers in the United States and elsewhere…”
Immigration and the situation at the southern border with Mexico have also been a focal point of Trump’s ambitions. Trump has promised mass deportation of undocumented immigrants which “would be a recipe for social and economic turmoil, disrupting the housing market and major industries including agriculture and the service sector.” He also plans to speed up the deportation process by denying “undocumented immigrants the usual hearings and opportunity to file appeals, which can take months or years…” through expedited removal.
What is somewhat puzzling, is that specifically, Trump’s tariffs and immigration plans go against his goal of lowering costs for the American people, as outlined above. Though Trump may be out of touch, he is not stupid (or maybe he just is) and he can “justify” his mass deportation plan by saying he is getting rid of criminals taking advantage of Americans. Nonetheless, it is really hard to see how he thinks imposing tariffs on imports from two of America’s biggest trading partners will benefit Americans.
Trump’s campaign consists of several more goals and ambitions he plans to execute throughout his presidency, ranging from environmental to gender regulations. This article provides a general overview of what he did on his first day in office.
Concluding Thoughts
The election and everything that led up to it as well as everything since then, has been a lot to take in. If anything this election has shown two main things, how cruel and emotionless politics can be and how ridiculous, saturated, and silly politics can be.
People who voted for Trump because “he’s a good guy” are simply ignoring the still accumulating pile of evidence that goes against that rhetoric, and it seems unlikely that would be the reason why one voted for Trump. This means that the majority of Americans voted for a man with a track record like no other (and we mean that in a bad way) due to his policies that he promised would lower living costs. Whether that happens is yet to be seen, but that is beside the point. The fact remains that the American public voted for a felon and an objectively bad person, showing how politics can be so apathetic.
Yet on the other side of the coin, this election has also shown how much of a joke politics can be when you take the time to actually process what is unfolding in front of your eyes. From Musk doing his weird jumps at Trump rallies, to forced and awkward celebrity endorsements (from both sides), to the presidential candidates (at the time) arguing about golf on a nationally broadcasted debate, to the Democrats then realizing their candidate was simply too old, to each side calling each other weird, and then both sides proceeding to do weird things. The 2024 United States presidential election made a mockery of what America should be, a serious country that is there to serve its people. Instead, our representatives presented a circus-like popularity contest — which has split the nation — for the world to laugh at.
Additional Sources:
ABC News, ABC News Network, abcnews.go.com/Politics/former-capitol-police-officer-end-falsehoods-jan-6/story?id=114464816.
Boak, Josh, and Zeke Miller. “The White House Faces Many Questions about Biden’s Health and Medical History. Here Are Some Answers.” AP News, AP News, 9 July 2024, apnews.com/article/biden-health-doctor-physical-debate-7e2ee1216e35891600737ce20cdc7d2d.
De Pinto, Jennifer. “The Republican Convention: How Trump Got Here.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 19 July 2016, www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-gop-convention-2016-how-he-got-here/
Granderson, LZ. “Debate Showed Biden and Trump Are Terrible Choices, but Not Equally So.” Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2024, www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-06-28/biden-trump-cnn-debate-atlanta.
Healy, Jack. “These Are the 5 People Who Died in the Capitol Riot.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 11 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/us/who-died-in-capitol-building-attack.html.
Lempinen, Edward. “Young Voters Have Growing Power, but Broken Politics Leave Them ‘fatalistic,’ Studies Find.” UC Berkeley Research, 26 June 2024, vcresearch.berkeley.edu/news/young-voters-have-growing-power-broken-politics-leave-them-fatalistic-studies-find-0. Neumeister, Larry, et al. “Jury Finds Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse, Awards Accuser $5M.” AP News, 10 May 2023, apnews.com/article/trump-rape-carroll-trial-fe68259a4b98bb3947d42af9ec83d7db.
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