Upcoming US Elections 2024

On March 5th 2024, ‘Super Tuesday’ took place, marking a significant occasion in U.S politics. The day is especially dedicated to the presidential primaries in multiple states in the United States. For this moment, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are running for office in 2024.

Whom does fate favor more? Is Biden already defeated? What risks are expected from the election of either candidate? Dr. Paweł Laidler, Dean of the Faculty of International and Political Studies at Jagiellonian University contributed to the important discussion with his extensive research and knowledge in an interview arranged by The Global Observer team.

According to the recent polls, Joe Biden seems to be behind Trump, "Looking at the statistics today, Biden is not a very popular president. He must start acting in many ways, generally regarding the US economy” said Dr. Laidler. He added, “The Democrats are in worst position and Donald Trump will be a very strong contender, he may win the November elections."

Both Biden and Trump are currently the oldest candidates running for the presidency. However, the current president and Democratic party representative is now over 80 years old. "If he succeeds, he will finish this presidency being 86, which is quite a lot," commented the Professor. He believes that a person's health declines with age and "it is a bigger danger that his health may become one of the obstacles for him to govern.”  In the case of the sudden step down of the presidential office, the opportunity favors Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.

There are also discussions on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Providing financial and military support to Ukraine is of paramount importance to the USA. On the other hand, American aid may take a different direction than it has been so far, "I would say that we may predict that support from the United States will be completely different than it is done today. Biden believes that multilateralism today is a value that America should be involved in to support Ukraine” claimed Dr. Laidler. Donald Trump’s presumed win will also have an impact on the Ukrainian crisis.  During his first presidency he showed close relations to Putin. However, in this campaign, it is not expected to have any particular affection between the United States and Russia. "It doesn't have to be an openly pro-Russian policy. However, Trump even used very positive words or phrases toward Putin” said the Professor.

The ongoing war between Hamas and Israel is equally affecting the election. President Biden, commenting on humanitarian aid in Gaza, called it ‘over the top’ which got a surprising reaction, but not for everyone. Dr. Laidler said that, "I am not surprised that he is making such a statement, because I think it is expected. Even if you can imagine that there are Arab-Americans and Jewish-Americans, who are important voters. They will have an impact on the election.” This year is particularly important for America in terms of its position on the international stage. It all depends on the votes of the citizens, because thanks to them they can entrust their nation in the proper hands.