The state of politics in the United States continue to be marked by turbulence, uncertainty, division and increased polarization. The 2024 general presidential election is now less than 6 months from occurring, and the contest currently projects to be a repeated rematch of the 2020 presidential general election in which the long serving and career politician from Pennsylvania and Delaware Joseph Biden defeated the 45th President Donald Trump. After winning the election, Biden promised to be a unifying figure and heal the nations political divisions, but thus far the president has acted in ways that have left opponents claiming he has only exacerbated the divide. In 2022, Biden made a controversial speech that claimed that the biggest threat to America was white supremacy. Additionally, he has routinely characterized Donald Trump, politicians who support him and the American citizens who back him as “MAGA extremists”, calling them a threat to democracy. Never before in American history has a sitting president spoke in such direct and demonizing terms when describing millions of his own constituents.
Biden and Trump are, unsurprisingly, both greatly disliked. Bidens approval rating hovers are 38%, and Trumps ratings were quite poor when he left the white house in January of 2021. As the electoral contest nears, both men are projected to be locked in a “dead heat”. A recent Quinnipiac poll from late April showed a 46% to 46% tie between Biden and Trump. Many Americans are dissatisfied with Biden and disapprove of his job performance, but equally as many dislike Trump. Things are likely to remain polarized.
In the GOP political sphere, Nikki Haley, a woman who had called Trump unqualified to be president ran against him in the primary and was the last to drop out of the race recently said she would support him. This about-face is all too common in the world of politics. Trump responded by saying Haley would “be on his team”.
