Who can compete with the leaders of the Democrats and Republicans in 2024
Will Joe Biden and Donald Trump really become rivals in the US presidential election in 2024, or are there options? We found out who can compete with them within their own parties.
Ron DeSantis
During the last presidential campaign in 2020 during the Democratic primaries, Biden had to work hard to get around the same-party rivals and reach the finish line to fight Republican Trump. Now, there is still six months left before the official start of the struggle, but so far Biden has no strong competitors from among the leaders of the Democratic Party. However, the beginning is the worst.
So, let's start with those who have already voiced their ambitions.
, a self-help author and former «spiritual guru» to television personality Oprah Winfrey, is running for the second time. In her unsuccessful 2020 campaign, she called for a federal peace department, supported reparations for slavery, and called Trumpism “a symptom of an illness in the American psyche that cannot be cured by political action.” She also promoted dubious or debunked medical theories, especially about mental illness.
Marianne Williamson
Not surprisingly, even The New York Times, a Democrat-sympathetic publication, called her a «curiosity» when referring to Williamson's experience in the last presidential race.
Nevertheless, starting the second presidential campaign, the Self Help author called Biden weak choice» and said that the Democrats should not be afraid of the primaries.
This time, she announced her presidential ambitions without even waiting for Biden to nominate her candidacy. Seemingly learning from a past setback, Williamson, 70, no longer talked about banishing the «dark psychic force» but spoke in Bernie Sanders' left-liberal style, focused on economic justice, corporate power, and what she called «deliberate blindness.» » powerful federal government officials to poverty in America.
Few people in Democratic political circles are serious about her entry into the race. The White House brushed it off altogether, refusing to respond to criticism of Biden.
If Marianne Williamson looks like an outright freak, then another politician who has announced his desire to run for president in 2024 has at least a sonorous surname as a trump card. It's about the nephew of the assassinated President Kennedy — who has gained a reputation as an active fighter against coronavirus vaccinations. His father (also the victim of a political assassination), Senator Robert Kennedy, also ran for President of the United States.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Formerly a prominent environmental lawyer who helped clean up the Hudson River, Kennedy Jr. promotes claims that childhood vaccines are linked to autism. And building his presidential campaign around a vaccine crusade,
California-based Kennedy traveled to Boston, once his family's stronghold of power, to announce that he would challenge President Biden for the Democratic nomination.< /p>
In a nearly two-hour speech, Robert Kennedy Jr., 69, recalled his father's 1968 campaign and death, and detailed his career as an environmental lawyer. At the same time, he lashed out at the pharmaceutical industry, at social networks, which he accused of censorship, at Biden's support for the conflict in Ukraine, and at the quarantine introduced under Trump at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I have something to talk about,” the activist lashed out at the social networks that stifle his freedom of speech. “They shouldn’t have shut me up for so long because now I’m really going to let myself go for the next 18 months. They will hear a lot from me.”
From the looks of it, Kennedy himself understands that his chances of beating the aged Biden in the race are slim. On the other hand, participation in the presidential campaign will be a good publicity stunt for him, as it will allow him to loudly declare his aspirations and concerns — and, above all, to publicize his fight against vaccines.
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We have dealt with those who have already announced the launch of their campaigns for 2024. But there are “heavyweights” in the ranks of the Democrats, who theoretically can compete with the aged Biden (or even replace him, if something happens).
Thus, observers highly appreciate the chances of the Minister of Transport. He went from local politician to national celebrity in just a few months. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 and won the intra-party primaries in Iowa. But shortly after that, he dropped out of the race. Nevertheless, Biden noticed him and gave him a ministerial position.
Past failures do not prevent The Washington Post from characterizing him as «the most authoritative and capable» among Biden's possible competitors. True, his unconventional sexual orientation can become a real Achilles heel for Buttigieg.
The current vice president of the United States, apparently, will go to the polls in conjunction with Biden. But the American press is discussing the possibility of her performing solo, again taking into account the age of the head of the White House. According to some polls, she could nominally lead the race without Biden, but without a convincing lead. In any case, she is less popular than Biden and than vice presidents of the recent past.
They also name the governor of California as one of the most likely candidates for the nomination. In recent months, he has put in a lot of effort to build his image at the All-American level, while pushing his party to take a more direct approach to fighting the Republicans. Another governor, Jared Polis of Colorado, is also on the list of potential 2024 nominees. He won re-election in November and is well liked in the party.
Bernie Sanders < /span>
Speaking of potential opponents of Biden, it is impossible not to mention the «leftist». But the Vermont senator assures that he will not challenge Biden in the primaries and will seek to rally the progressive supporters of the incumbent's candidacy. In any case, even if he wants to change his plans, his weak point is his age, not much different from Biden's. Yes, and his radical ideas scare away supporters of the mainstream. And on top of that, two defeats in attempts to run…
Republicans also have politicians who are preparing to fight Donald Trump for the right to compete for the White House. And the first among them, of course, is the young and charismatic governor of Florida. He could be the face of the «good old party» in 2024, and there has been a lot of talk since last year's midterm elections, when he won more than 1.5 million votes, the biggest margin in the state in more than four decades. During his tenure as head of the region, Republican voters outnumbered Democrats in Florida for the first time.
He advocates for legislation to end funding for diversity and inclusion programs, ban the teaching of gender identity in public schools, ban drag queen shows and gender-sensitive underage care, and limit abortion and weaken gun laws. “I will destroy leftism in this country,” Ron DeSantis promised his conservative audience the other day.
Ron DeSantis
And so he recently made an official statement about his presidential ambitions. But the launch of the 44-year-old DeSantis' campaign began with a false start. The governor decided to be original — and therefore used the services of Elon Musk, or rather the Twitter platform. However, the social network could not withstand the influx of people who wanted to watch the stream, and the election event turned into chaos with numerous failures. However, the main character of this political show was clearly not embarrassed by the technical inconsistencies.
“After all, in Florida, I demonstrated the ability to win a huge number of voters that Republicans usually cannot win – while also offering the most daring agenda anywhere in the country,” the politician advertises himself.
DeSantis owes a lot to Trump. He worked hard to imitate him. And he was nominated for the post of governor thanks to the support of the ex-president. Now they have parted ways — at least as long as they compete during the Republican primaries.
For his part, Trump has been paying close attention to his former protégé-turned-tackling adversary and attacking him almost daily on social media. But so far, according to the end of May and according to most polls, Trump is more than 30 points ahead of his nearest rival DeSantis.
The female part of the Republicans who want to become the head of the American state is represented. She announced her candidacy for president back in mid-February, becoming the first major Republican candidate to commit to opposing Donald Trump.
Once considered one of the brightest young candidates for the Republican Party, 51-year-old Nikki Haley has kept a low profile in recent years.
Nikki Haley
For the Republican Party, she does not look like a typical representative. Born in South Carolina to Punjabi Sikh immigrants, Haley became the country's youngest governor in 2009. She gained national attention in 2015 after calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol.
Although she stated in 2016 that she was «not a fan» of Donald Trump, she later accepted his offer to become US Ambassador to the United Nations.
Her campaign, which includes a call for mandatory tests for mental competence for politicians over 75 years old (and here a direct attack not only towards Biden, who is in his 80s, but also Trump, who turns 77 on June 14), underlines the need for a «new generation» of US leaders.
Another figure with South Asian roots (like Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Nikki Haley) announced his candidacy for the White House during a speech on Fox News in late February. He is a 37-year-old Indian-American biotech entrepreneur. He had no political experience, except that he was a regular participant in the daily program of Fox host Tucker Carlson. He argues that the country is in the midst of a national identity crisis caused by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.
Ramaswamy ran a pharmaceutical company from 2014 to 2021, then co-founded the investment firm Strive Asset Management, which opposes » controversial» concept of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).
The businessman was inspired by Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, and now he himself has decided to run «with the help of an entrepreneurial spirit, out of the box ideas and small expectations» in the hope of creating «a large audience that will lead him to the presidency»
Less known (at least outside the United States) is another potential opponent of Trump — a senator. He has a long career in South Carolina politics and entered the race in May with nearly $22 million in cash, more than his rivals.
The only black person ever to serve in both houses of Congress, Scott, 57, has represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2013. So they are countrymen with Nikki Haley.
Tim Scott
He is the grandson of a cotton worker and the son of a single mother, and he often talked about how his family went from cotton to Congress throughout his life.
Tim Scott announced his 2024 bid, promising to turn on a «retreating nation» and revive America's «culture of greatness».
Highly popular with his peers, he quickly earned the endorsement of two fellow senators, including John Toon, the second-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives.
Here's another potential bidder for the 2024 Republican Party nomination. does not need a special introduction. This is Mike Pence, who was a loyal aide to Donald Trump as his vice president for four years — until the Capitol riots in early 2021 destroyed their relationship.
The son of a Korean War veteran, he began his career in conservative politics as a radio talk show host. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and held the post until 2013, describing himself as a «principled conservative.»
The politician also served as Governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017. In this position, he secured the largest tax cut in the state's history and signed bills to curb abortion and protect religious freedom. Mike Pence was a Catholic in the past, but then became a Protestant — an evangelical Christian. It is believed that in many ways it was his participation in the 2016 presidential election that helped mobilize a decisive electoral bloc in favor of Trump.
Calm and taciturn, he was considered an effective replacement for the intemperate and extravagant Donald Trump, who eventually lashed out at Pence for lack of «courage» after the vice president refused to help him overturn the 2020 election results. It is no coincidence that the Trumpists who stormed the Capitol were chanting «Hang Mike Pence!» Since then, the two once-close Republican politicians have largely kept their distance from each other.
Now, the time is coming when politicians of the same party will have to turn their full ardor into the fight for the nomination in the 2024 elections. Well, then try to forget about the attacks against the competitor made at the time of the primaries in order to act as a united front against the candidate from the opposite party. However, before that time, a lot of water will flow away and many spears will be broken.