The presidential election of 2024 inches ever closer to occurring as the month of January unfolds and a mere ten months now separate the current time from the general election. While many Americans are likely focused on a plethora of other things, it is no secret that many political activists, politicians, economists, legal figures and media pundits are hyper focused on the upcoming contest. Indeed, the United States is in a position that it likely has not been in in nearly 160 years; the country is extremely divided, polarized and tense. Following the 2016 election in which Donald Trump achieved an upset victory over the democratic challenger Hillary Clinton, political tensions have markedly risen. In 2020, the country experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, widespread civil unrest, and a closely contested election in which the longtime public employee and career politician Joe Biden defeated the incumbent President Donald Trump.
Since then, the nation’s economic stability has weakened- inflation has crushed the already struggling middle class and the prices of basic necessities has skyrocketed. Currently, 6 in 10 Americans are estimated to be living paycheck to paycheck, and the price of housing has increased to such an extent that ownership is now unaffordable for families making the median national income in much of the country.
Currently, Trump and Biden appear poised for a rematch in November 2024. Both men are unpopular, and most polls show a dead heat in the projected electoral rematch. These numbers likely reflect the divided, stagnant state of American political discourse. While Trump faces four criminal indictments, mounting litigation, and even efforts by leftist activists to use the judicial system to completely misinterpret a constitutional amendment to prevent him from running for office, he remains the GOP frontrunner. Trump’s current wife, Melania has been noticeably absent during public appearances. Trump has stated that Melania has been spending time with her mother, who is ill.
