It’s an unsure time for the Democratic Party. As November draws closer, incumbent President and Democratic nominee President Biden is losing popularity among the critical sections of society. Widely perceived as too old for office, the 81-year-old is no longer carrying the image of stability and sensibility he had during the 2020 elections and before that, during the Obama administration. Worse, his son, Hunter Biden has been found guilty of perjury and his legal prosecutions are only going downhill.

Let us explore more on the challenges Biden is facing to re-election to the White House.

Trump

Republican candidate Donald John Trump has been on a well-publicized rollercoaster. Recently declared a felon, Trump has gained the image of a martyr. Trump swept the Republican primaries and crushed other Republican strongmen like Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. That, however, does not imply a resurgent Trump certainly en-route redemption. Many Americans remain unconvinced of either candidate being worthy of their vote, and it is until today a very close call. Trump’s is more towards liberal economics, something that has gained him the industrialists’ favour. African-Americans, who were the reason of Biden’s 2020 triumph, are not as enthusiastic about him as they previously were. It is also worth remembering that Biden won the electoral college by less than 44,000 votes in ’20 and his charm is less appealing than ever to the undecided voters.

‘Bidenomics’ sure has satisfied a lot of economists, but not the voters. The unemployment rate under the Biden administration has never exceeded 4% (Biden inherited a 16% unemployment rate from Trump) and the GDP growth is consistently meeting expected targets. An average voter is only concerned with the cost of his essentials. Unfortunately for Biden, both food and energy costs have surged due to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine and are woefully out of tandem with the Federal Reserve’s guidelines.

However, this does not mean that Trump can count on the voters Biden is seemingly losing. Trump’s character flaws, as shown in the trial and on the day his followers stormed the Capitol, make him undesirable as well. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been unsuccessful so far in doing a Ross Perot and hence it boils down to campaigning success.

Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin initiated the largest armed conflict in Europe since the Second World War. Thousands of Russian soldiers poured into Ukraine and continue to today. Biden has been more decisive than his predecessors in tackling the Russian Federation and its bullying of Ukraine, providing billions of dollars’ worth of aid to the Ukrainians. Though Moscow is no more the juggernaut that captured Berlin about 80 years ago, it has not crumbled under sanctions and the bolstered Ukrainian armies. Putin’s demands- most recently a Ukrainian withdrawal from NATO and Ukraine forfeiting the annexed regions- are deemed absurd by Zelenskyy and his cabinet. As every peace conference ends unsuccessfully, Biden’s Ukraine agenda is being viewed with greater scepticism than ever. The US Congress is becoming increasingly reluctant to provide aid to the ‘outgunned’ country with an ‘unwinnable’ cause according to the Republicans. The Democratic side however is still optimistic, evident in the 1.5 billion USD aid recently announced.

This is an issue where Trump and Biden differ greatly. While Biden continues to advocate for supporting Ukraine, Trump is convinced that this is an unnecessary cause burning a hole in the Department of Defence’s budget.
As for the American people, the support for Ukraine is steadily declining, with about a third opining over-investment. The general thought is steadily deteriorating and that is good news for Trump.

Gaza

Everybody is conscious of the ongoing debacle in Gaza. Easily the worst humanitarian crises in the Middle East ever, this huge conflict has the Biden administration in a quandary. Protests have torn America apart. Elite institutions like Yale, Harvard and British Columbia have witnessed mass rustications of students for this very reason. While Biden must honour the US-Israeli friendship, he cannot afford to alienate such a huge percentage of his voters. More than half of the American populace is unimpressed by Israeli actions on starving Palestinians and view this to be a genocide. The question, simply put, is: How much longer will Biden support Israel’s isolationist war, one which doesn’t please Israelis? After his trusty Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is failing to mediate a ceasefire, he must make a clear decision: stay with Israel and almost definitely lose re-election, or actually free Palestine? Biden has to tread a cautious path, after his military support to Israel earlier on in this war.

Trump until now has been unclear, perhaps to be seen as the only alternative for the pro-Palestine young voters. Regardless, these voters are only likely to opt for Trump after shunning Biden and his foreign policy.

Bibliography: -

1)      politico.eu/article/donald-trump-ukraine-russia-war-threatens-cut-aid-election-2024/ - :~:text=U.S.%20Vice%20President%20Kamala%20Harris,Ukraine%20peace%20summit%20in%20Switzerland.

2)      theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/25/trump-presidency-israel-gaza-middle-east-crisis

3)      globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/americans-continue-support-military-and-economic-aid-ukraine

4)      youtube.com/watch?v=ezvnji9xHZk

5)      youtube.com/watch?v=Qg31esDMN3M

6)      vox.com/politics/353037/trump-gaza-israel-protests-biden-election-2024

7)      youtube.com/watch?v=PB8JazHcQ_k