“You know what really irks me?” Donald Trump questioned during his election rally in Freeland, Michigan, on Wednesday night. “When these pundits appear on television, those so-called experts who’ve never achieved anything in their lives, and they start talking about us having two very unpopular candidates. They say, ‘We have Biden or we have Trump. These are very unpopular choices.'”
Surrounded by a fervent crowd dressed in Make America Great Again (MAGA) attire, with a backdrop featuring a plane emblazoned with the word ” Trump ” in gilded letters, the former US president who is going to be at the next election , vehemently contested his perceived unpopularity: “I’m not unpopular!”
Despite Trump’s protestations, opinion polls suggest otherwise, revealing a dip in his approval ratings due to concerns about his stance on issues such as abortion and his involvement in four ongoing legal cases, not to mention the perceived threat he poses to constitutional democracy. On the other hand, Biden grapples with his own job performance challenges, particularly regarding inflation, immigration, and his handling of the conflict in Gaza.
This establishes the stage for what one could describe as a clash between an immovable object and a resistible force. Six months ahead of what promises to be one of the most pivotal elections in American history, predicting the outcome of this first presidential rematch in nearly seven decades is a fool’s errand.
Larry Jacobs
Larry Jacobs, the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, remarked, “It’s nearly inconceivable to envision a scenario where Biden emerges victorious when you consider the mounting challenges he faces. The economy appears to be in a downturn, with soaring inflation rates and signs of fracture within the Democratic coalition, as evidenced by the recent protests and arrests on college campuses, as well as the backlash among Arab Americans over the Gaza conflict.”
“Given these factors, one might wonder how Biden stands a chance. Yet, when we focus on Trump, we face the question of how a candidate openly defying the will of the voters could possibly win. It’s an unfathomable conundrum of choices.”
Typically, elections feature either two new candidates or an incumbent facing off against a challenger, offering ample opportunity for new revelations. However, Biden, aged 81, and Trump, aged 77, already hold the distinction of being the two oldest individuals ever to occupy the White House. Most voters have formed entrenched opinions about them, as they have been the subjects of countless books, articles, and documentaries.