Summer 2024 has been full of shocking events in regards to the current — and now former — presidential candidates for November’s election.
On July 13, former president and current candidate for the Republican Party, Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired eight shots from an AR-15-style rifle from the roof of a building 400 feet away from the podium. He shot Trump’s upper right ear before being killed by a Secret Service’s sniper.
After recovering in the hospital, Trump made his first public appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention two days later. The same day, he picked his new vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, U.S. Senator of Ohio.
However, Vance may not be the best choice for Trump strategically, as he lacks experience and is controversial for both Democrats and Republicans. For example, during the 2016 election, Vance remarked many times of his distaste for Trump, saying he was unfit for the nation’s highest office and that he couldn’t stomach him. Additionally, his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” received backlash for depicting negative stereotypes towards Appalachians, the people who he supposedly grew up around.
As if the presidential election couldn’t get any more intense, President Joe Biden dropped out of the race just a week later on July 21. Following the first election debate between Trump and Biden, who is 81 years old, on June 27, many Democratic party members expressed concern over Biden’s electability after the president trailed off multiple times while speaking and seemed frail. Before he dropped out, Biden’s approval rating was 38.7%, the lowest of any post-WWII president, according to gallup.com.
Biden released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying: “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
Just 30 minutes later, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee for the Democratic Party in his stead, and said it was the best decision he’s made.
According to apnews.com, this is the first time a presidential nominee has stepped down from the race so close to election day. Before this year, the previous latest was President Lyndon Johnson’s announcement that he would not seek another term in March of 1968.
As the end of summer is fast approaching, so too is election day. Democrats have been energized by the change in candidate. In the first week as presumptive nominee, the Harris campaign raised $200 million and attracted more than 170,000 new volunteers. On Aug. 6, she chose Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her vice presidential candidate., The pair appeared together for the first time at a rally in Philadelphia the following day. If Harris wins the election, she will be the first woman and first person of South Asian descent to be President of the United States.
This promises to be one of the most interesting election seasons in history and now more than ever, it is important to stay informed in these uncertain months to come.