In the USA, general elections are scheduled for November 2024. President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr are present on the electoral ballots. Each presidential contestant criticizes the other and is campaigning and focusing on issues near to Americans in this race to win.
These campaign issues include Abortion, border security, immigration, climate, change, education, economy, democracy, foreign policy, healthcare, and LGBT rights. The Americans look more concerned about these areas. Biden called on to codify abortion protections into federal law and held many rallies on this issue. Trump leaves the issue to states to decide but asks them to monitor and prosecute abortion.
Border security and immigration stand among the top issues concerning potential voters in this election. Trump promises deportations through the military and enhanced detentions through workplace raids and enforcement of local laws. The New York Times reported that Trump plans an extreme crackdown on immigration. He promises to deport 11 million people from the US through his strict actions.
Biden states increase in funding for border patrol and enforcement, provides a path for people in the US to apply for legal status and eventually citizenship. He plans a smoother and expanded visa process for foreign graduates of American universities. His administration has undertaken a policy of punishing migrants who enter the country illegally and providing temporary protections to migrants from certain countries.
Climate change is another issue on the campaign agenda of candidates. Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA is the largest investment in addressing climate change in US history. He strengthened environmental protections that had been weakened during the Trump administration. Biden surpassed Trump’s record in US crude oil production with over 13.2 million barrels of crude per day. Trump refers to increasing oil drilling on public lands and offering tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He states his goal for the US to have the lowest cost of electricity and energy of any country in the world.
Democracy is a major area of concern for US voters. President Biden frames this election as a battle for democracy, but polling indicates significant dissatisfaction with the state of democracy in the USA. Liberals believe that conservatives are threatening the country with autocratic tendencies. Republicans believe that Trump’s former impeachment and four criminal cases are attempts to influence this election. Trump calls for the vast expansion of presidential powers and the executive branch over every part of the federal government. He promised to pardon those charged for their involvement in the attacks and has called those charged “hostages” and “great, great patriots. He calls Biden a threat to democracy. Kennedy was reported saying that President Biden poses a bigger threat to democracy than Trump.
Americans consider economics as their top issue. High inflation began in 2021, resulting from the pandemic and supply-chain crisis. It swelled by the economic effects of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. Polling over Biden’s handling of the economy has been marking negative trends since 2021. He proposed increasing taxes on large corporations to reduce the deficit and help programs for the poor. Trump argues that keeping taxes low for the wealthy increases job creation.
In the educational sector, Biden wrote off student loans – totaling over 132 billion USD focusing on public servants, and people in repayment for long periods. In August 2022, he announced to signing of an executive order to forgive large amounts of student debt. This plan was overturned in the Supreme Court. Republicans objected to his plans and called them “irresponsible spending.” Trump vowed to abolish the Department of Education calling it a product of fanatics.
About foreign policy, Biden issued an executive order in 2022 in response to the Russian attack on Ukraine and gave huge military aid to Ukraine. The US aid to Israel is also significant. He strengthened the NATO alliance while Trump called to revisit NATO’s purpose. He says Russia-Ukraine should not be of significant interest to the US. He voices “America First.” Biden’s support for Israel is being criticized by progressives and Muslim leaders.
In healthcare, Trump has made repealing the Affordable Care Act. He suggested he was open to cutting entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Biden has advertised the IRA of 2022 that expanded the Affordable Care Act. He promised to protect and defend the Affordable Care Act after Trump’s opposition. Kennedy is being reported as a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, but not against all vaccines.
Regarding LGBT rights Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified protections for same-sex and interracial marriage into law. He has endorsed the Equality Act, legislation aiming to extend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to offer protection on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation across various domains. Trump promised a rollback on trans rights. He says he will rescind Biden’s Title IX protections “on day one” for transgender students using bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns that align with their gender identities. This is among what the US presidential candidature campaign is going on.
(Senior journalist Rana Kashif has authored this article)
