Harris/Walz waltz into the competition
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, the Democratic Party has seen significant overhauls. With President Biden dropping out of the presidential race, Kamala Harris, a familiar face, has stepped in to lead the Democrats this year.
The single most important, yet devastating event for the Democratic campaign, was the presidential debate on June 27 between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Throughout the debate, Biden showed signs of stuttering, loss of thought, and senility. Trump took advantage of the weakened Biden and showed America that Biden’s age is a massive issue.
As Biden’s polls plummeted after the debate, he fell ill with COVID-19, taking him out of the public eye for some time and raising even more concern about his health. Days later, top Democrats began calling for President Biden to step out of the race, which he eventually did on July 21.
After President Biden left the race, he immediately endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris. At first, many people were undecided about Harris and her legitimacy, but over time, her poll numbers have risen in solid Democratic and swing states, showing promising results for the Democratic party.
For her running mate, Harris picked Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota, to be her Vice President. While little is known about Walz, Harris likely picked him to gain support in the Midwest, where there are large swing states crucial for winning the election.
One of the big things that the Harris/Walz campaign is pushing for is climate change. Harris has especially backed the progressive Green New Deal, which supports the banning of fracking and offshore drilling. Harris is also pushing for the Inflation Reduction Act, which pushes for electric vehicles and environmentally friendly products.
The Republicans have been going against the Democrat’s green goals with Trump wanting America to become a manufacturing giant through oil and gas. Trump stated that he would “drill, baby, drill” for oil and natural gas and “oppose all of the radical left’s Green New Deal policies.”
Another big goal for Harris and Walz is holding their allies close. Biden and Harris have both shown strong support for upkeeping NATO and massive support for Ukraine in their effort against Russia.
The Israel-Gaza conflict has also been its own controversial topic with Harris calling for a ceasefire instead of supporting Israel. The Democrats have been slowly changing their foreign policy in Israel, likely to attract voters who are against the conflict.
On the other hand, Trump has hit back on this the hardest, pushing his “America First” plan–anything outside America is not America’s problem. Trump has even threatened to pull the U.S. out of NATO in the past. Overall, Trump wants America to focus on itself, instead of helping other nations such as Ukraine and Israel.
Trump doesn’t just want to end war, as he told Netanyahu, “Get your victory quickly” because “the killing has to stop.”
Harris is ready to take on Trump this year, stating “Say it to my face!,” challenging him for the position of president.