US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clinched their parties’ presidential nominations today with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want.
The outcome of contests across Georgia, Mississippi and Washington State was never in doubt. Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced major opposition. But the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority he needed to claim his party’s nomination at the summertime national conventions.
Not even halfway through the presidential primary calendar, the Tuesday primaries (today NZ time) marked a crystallising moment for a nation uneasy with its choices in 2024.
There is no longer any doubt the election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. At 81 Biden is already the oldest president in US history, while 77-year-old Trump is facing decades in prison as a defendant in four criminal cases. Their rematch — the first featuring two US presidents since 1912 — will almost certainly deepen the nation’s searing political and cultural divides over the eight-month grind that lies ahead.
In a statement, Biden celebrated the nomination while casting Trump as a serious threat to democracy.
Biden said Trump “is running a campaign of resentment, revenge and retribution that threatens the very idea of America”.
He continued, “I am honoured that the broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic Party across the country have put their faith in me once again to lead our party — and our country — in a moment when the threat Trump poses is greater than ever.”
US President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign rally. Photo / AP
On the eve of today’s primaries, Trump acknowledged Biden would be the Democratic nominee, even as he seized on the president’s age.
“I assume he’s going to be the candidate,” Trump said of Biden on CNBC. “I’m his only opponent other than life, life itself.”
The two candidates dominated today’s primaries in swing-state Georgia, deep-red Mississippi and Democratic-leaning Washington. Voting was taking place later in Hawaii’s Republican caucus.
Despite their tough talk, the road ahead will not be easy for either presumptive nominee.
Trump is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases involving his handling of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, among other alleged crimes. He’s also facing increasingly pointed questions about his policy plans and relationships with some of the world’s most dangerous dictators. Trump met privately on Friday (local time) with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has rolled back democracy in his country.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally. Photo / AP
Biden, who would be 86 years old at the end of his next term, is working to assure a sceptical electorate he’s still physically and mentally able to thrive in the world’s most important job. Voters in both parties are unhappy with his handling of immigration and inflation.
And he’s dealing with additional dissent within his party’s progressive base, where there is fury he hasn’t done more to stop Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Activists and religious leaders in Washington encouraged Democrats to vote “uncommitted” to signal their outrage.
In Seattle, 26-year-old voter Bella Rivera said they hoped their “uncommitted” vote would serve as a wake-up call for the Democratic party.
“If you really want our votes, if you want to win this election, you’re going to have to show a little bit more either support of Palestinian liberation — that’s something that’s very important to us — and ceasing funds to Israel,” said Rivera, a preschool teacher who uses they/them pronouns.
About 4800km miles away in Georgia, retiree Donna Graham said she would have preferred another Republican nominee over Trump but said there’s no way she’d vote for Biden in the general election.
“He wasn’t my first choice, but he’s the next best thing,” Graham said of Trump. “It’s sad that it’s the same old match-up as four years ago.”
