Nikki Haley dropped out of the race about a week ago, paving the way for President Donald Trump to secure the nomination of the Republican Party without too much trouble. He is officially the presumptive nominee of the GOP for the presidential elections this November.
The incumbent president, President Joe Biden, also secured the nomination of his party without too much trouble as well. He is also the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. The 81-year-old president said on Tuesday evening that he was “honored” voters had backed his re-election bid “in a moment when the threat Trump poses is greater than ever.”
Both candidates won several states in primary elections on Tuesday to propel them to the finish line. The two contenders will provide the United States with its first rematch in a presidential election for 70 years. Now the main question to ask ourselves is whether or not the rematch will turn the exact same way as their first confrontation in 2020.
A lot has happened since Biden’s election. He implemented a set of policies that affected people’s lives, and he now has a track record to defend as an incumbent seeking re-election. President Trump, on the other hand, is the outsider but he seems to have the lead over President Biden. According to the latest polls by FiveThirtyEight, President Trump maintains his lead over President Biden. According to The Economist, Trump has 44% of approval against 42% for Biden. According to CBS News, Trump has a lead of 51% against 48% for Biden.
Most Americans seem to favor Trump over Biden because of his pre-COVID economic policies. During his presidential term, President Trump deregulated the economy and cut taxes to incentivize economic growth. For example, since the 2016 election, the economy has added 7 million jobs, far exceeding the 2 million predicted by the Congressional Budget Office in its final pre-2016 election forecast. U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, the lowest rate in five decades. At the end of 2019, nearly three-quarters of people entering employment came from out of the labor force—one of the highest rates on record.
According to a detailed poll by YouGov on key issues published in the Washington Examiner, independents think that Biden would be better at handling healthcare (35% vs 28%) and the environment (35% vs 23%) but think that Trump would better handle the economy (47% vs 26%), foreign policy (41% vs 25%) and immigration (45% vs 21%). These indicators are crystal clear on where most Americans stand between the two gerontocrats of American politics. Biden’s age remains a serious concern as his mental capacities are severely debilitated.
Both candidates will be accepting the nomination of their respective parties in the summer and surely have two debates before November. While Donald Trump maintains his lead over Joe Biden, there is no guarantee that this will be the outcome in November.