The 2024 presidential ballot has largely left voters ambivalent about the respective candidates of the upcoming election. With many independent voters now leaning either to the right or left, there has been a huge shift in voter turnouts. Thus, suspense has been building among the general public as November 5 inches closer.
Tensions were exacerbated during the first presidential debate, in which Trump and Biden engaged in heated discourse regarding American domestic and foreign policy issues. Many news outlets noted that the age gap between the 81-year-old Joseph Biden and 78-year-old Donald Trump seemed much larger due to Biden’s performance. Reporters commented on the frequency of Biden slurring his words, rendering his speech mostly unintelligible; as a result, many media sources noted how he was possibly nearing the end of his political career.
Additionally, instead of the expected policy-driven debate many voters were expecting, the nominees ended up dishing out personal attacks. For instance, Biden highlighted Trump’s criminal allegations, including rape and sexual harrassment. On the other hand, Trump made mention of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted of felony gun charges. The debate’s shift in tone was emphasized by the candidates’ conversation regarding their golfing ability.
NHP students expressed their shock about the content of the debate.
“I think that Biden’s performance was something to be worried about, all things considered,” senior Ajwad Karim said. “His stuttering problem followed by his general absentmindedness in the debate made me very concerned, which is why I think his stepping down was a smart move, no matter the circumstances behind it.”
“I was incredibly dumbfounded at how deranged the conversation became,” senior Isabelle Do said. “I mean, I’m all for a good golf talk, but this isn’t ‘The Golfer’s Journal.’”
One common theme about the presidential debate was the emphasis on Biden’s apparent senility. With many insults about Biden’s physical and mental capabilities found on the Internet, approval ratings among voters were considerably lower for the Democratic Party. This is why, when Biden stepped out of office, the Democratic Party saw a huge shift in voter turnout. A little over three weeks after the condemned debate performance, Biden ended his campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris sought the nomination in the president’s place, and the Democratic Party immediately consolidated around her.
The new presidential nominees participated in a second debate on September 10, 2024. The debate was hosted by ABC News, and a CBS vice presidential debate occurred on October 1. Stakes were high for both nominees considering that this was Harris’ first time on the debate stage and Trump’s first time debating his new opponent.
“I thought it was probably going to be a bigger night for Kamala Harris,” social studies chairperson Mr. Galvin said. “She had to do a few things that Trump didn’t have to do. Even though she’s vice president, most people don’t realize who she is as much as she knows Donald Trump. He’s probably the most known person in the world right now, on a lot of different levels. People have already decided whether or not they want to vote for him or not—the vast majority. I think for Kamala Harris, she had more wiggle room to get undecided voters because they don’t know her so much. So, my feelings were that it was a bigger night for her.”
Throughout the debate, Harris goaded the former President with barbs which resulted in heated retorts. The vice president focused on putting Trump on the defensive, especially on key issues such as the economy and abortion. She also mentioned Project 2025, a conservative outline for the U.S. government in the years to come. In response, Trump shifted topics from the proposal to his tariff plan.
Another main emphasis on the debate was Trump’s provably false statements. These include stating that pets were being eaten by illegal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio; talking about legalized infanticide in some of the fifty states; and claiming Harris was working on “transgender operations on illegal aliens in prisons.” During the debate, these claims were fact-checked live by the moderators, leaving many of those independent voters to lean towards the Democratic candidate.
“I’m going to be honest, when I was watching this live I figured something insane would be said. However, I never had immigrants eating cats and dogs and transgender aliens on that list. It was funny, but thinking more about it, it’s crazy what people can say on television, especially when the claims are false and utterly cruel,” senior Stan Sardinha said. “I’m glad that the moderator fact checked it, because imagine if they didn’t? People would believe it even more, I’m sure of that. I really think Harris killed it, but I can’t say the same about Trump. This election is crucial to the well being of whatever stability this country has left, and whatever happens next will influence the lives of millions. The pressure’s on. As a transgender alien, I can only hope that the future will be brighter than it is now. And, that people will stop claiming that immigrants are eating pets, and that abortions after birth are legal.”
Trump, along with many Republicans, claims that the moderators exhibited bias throughout the debate. This conclusion was drawn due to frequent fact-checks as well as dismissal when Trump attempted to talk over his allotted time.
“Overall, this debate is symptomatic of a much larger issue in the US: democracy and freedom of speech are threatened,” junior Anirudh Arvind said. “With major media outlets like CNN, ABC, and NBC all taking biased shots at Trump while supporting Kamala, as well as Kamala suspiciously surging in the polls despite having no truly fleshed out ideas, it is clear that Trump has already lost the election. No matter what, Kamala will win in November, and it’s all downhill from there.”
The majority of voting Americans agree that Harris won the debate according to a CNN flash poll of 605 registered US voters. Before the debate occurred, the same group was split fifty fifty on which nominee would perform better at the podium. This is a distinctive shift from the previous debate, in which Trump won the favor of the public by a margin of 67% to 33%.
The 2024 election is nearing and both candidates are increasing their campaign efforts to win new voters. While Harris is currently taking the lead in voter polls, the outcome of the election still remains undecided.
