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Emily Cui

The 2024 US Election: BYE-den or Bid-IN?


It’s happening again. The once-every-four-years televised display of democracy at its worst, accompanied by aggressive Tweets and extreme patriotism (cue the eagle screech).


Except, not really.


The US presidential election isn’t next month. It isn’t even in the next six months. In fact, it'll be in November of 2024 – nearly a year away. So why talk about it now?


Unlike most other countries, where federal election campaigns are usually limited by law to a few weeks (for example, Canada’s longest campaign ever was 11 weeks)—which means you don’t hear about upcoming elections until they’re actually soon—the US has no length limits to its campaigns. Ted Cruz announced his bid to become president 596 days before Election Day in 2015. And that means next year’s possible presidents have already begun the public rat race to the top. Keeping that in mind, and understanding that the US’s political climate will inevitably affect our own, let’s take a deep dive into each of the major candidates for the presidency.


Disclaimer: Finding unbiased, neutral news regarding each politician is incredibly difficult and I myself have very strong opinions on each candidate, which may inevitably permeate into my work. I encourage you to do your own research, as this is a deeply nuanced topic that cannot be covered in a single article. All my sources have been linked for your further perusal!


Candidate #1: Joe Biden



Here’s a fun challenge: try counting how many candles there are on his 81st birthday cake.

  • Democratic Party

  • The current president (and the oldest president the US has ever had—he was sworn into office at 78)

Election promises:

  • Assault weapons ban

  • Codifying abortion rights in federal legislation

  • Ensuring paid family medical leave

  • In summary, largely the same promises as the last election cycle — Biden is campaigning on his previous policies (including ones he promised in 2020 but did not fulfill) instead of proposing new ideas & choosing to stay silent — so there isn’t much content to find on his promises, even on his official campaign website


Notable actions:


Candidate #2: Donald Trump



Can you believe that this mugshot has become part of the official Trump 2024 merch line?

  • Republican Party

  • The former president (served only one term before he was unelected)


Election promises:

  • Take down drug cartels; death penalty for drug smugglers & traffickers

  • Prioritize parental rights in education; terminate Department of Education; cut funding for schools with vaccine/mask mandates; promote prayers in school; allow trained teachers to carry guns; promote nuclear family & traditional gender roles in education

  • Strip tens of thousands of career employees of civil service protections, crack down on government officials who leak to reporters & require federal employees to pass a civil service test

  • End illegal immigration by moving thousands of troops (including those overseas & at the Drug Enforcement Administration + FBI) and expand Trump Wall

  • Reimpose Muslim-targeted travel bans to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country”

  • End birthright citizenship

  • Institute tariffs (~10%) on most foreign goods and to impose reciprocal tariffs if any country imposes one on the US

  • Ban hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors; block funding for gender-affirming care; pass a bill that establishes “only two genders” will be recognized

  • Reverse pollution limits and increase oil drilling; exit Paris Climate Accords

  • Bring back large mental institutions for the “severely mentally ill” or “dangerously deranged”


Notable actions:

  • Dropped unemployment rates to a record-low 3.5% and created millions of jobs (though notably, COVID-19 changed all of that and part of the growth can be accredited to Obama)

  • Signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - the largest tax reform package in history

  • Appointed three Supreme Court Justices and 226 judges

  • Encouraged and incited the January 6th attack on the US Capitol that led to several deaths and hundreds of injuries

  • Established the US Space Force to protect American military assets in space

  • Signed First Step Act to reform the criminal justice system by addressing mass incarceration, lowering recidivism by offering rehabilitation & job training opportunities, and setting up provisions to treat prisoners more humanely

  • Killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

  • Built a wall along the US-Mexico border in an attempt to stop immigrants

  • Divided Republicans and Democrats more deeply than any other politician in the last three decades (86% of Republicans supported Trump compared to 6% Democrats)

  • Impeached twice (the first US president to ever be impeached twice!) and indicted on 34 felony charges

  • Allowed COVID-19 to spread rapidly in the US by denying its reality and preventing public health measures (ie. dissolving the White House pandemic response team)

  • Withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement

  • Tear-gassed peaceful protestors; demonized anti-racism demonstrators; employed racist rhetoric

  • “Zero tolerance” policy on illegal border crossings led to family separation and children being placed in literal cages

  • Refused to accept the 2020 election results and hindered America’s democracy


Candidate #3: Gavin Newsom



I wanted to put a goofier photo, but he isn’t popular enough to have memes…

  • Democratic Party

  • Governor of California


Election promises:

  • Stricter gun control - background checks, assault weapons ban, minimum age & reasonable waiting period for gun purchases

  • Address homelessness crisis by building infrastructure to house and treat people

  • As he only recently declared he was running for president (October of this year), and only the month before he had insisted had no intention of running and was "all in for President Joe Biden," information on what he intends to do if he wins is scarce


Notable actions:

  • Stood up for abortion, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ rights, particularly in red (Republican) states

  • Temporarily ended the death penalty in California as well as limited police brutality

  • Proposed a massive $100 billion economic stimulus packet to address poverty, homelessness, and housing in California

  • Established universal free school lunch in California

  • Proposed to end oil extraction by 2045 (ideally 2035) and ban new gas-powered cars by 2035

  • Voted to decriminalize magic mushrooms

  • Discouraged a bill that would have helped transgender students not be forcibly outed

  • Claimed to reduce San Francisco homelessness, but that was achieved in part by physically “bus”ing the homeless out of SF – in fact, homelessness rates have increased by 25% in California since his inauguration


Candidate #4: Nikki Haley



Hey, she has a first name as her last name!

  • Republican Party

  • Former Governor of South Carolina


Election promises:

  • Set term limits for members of Congress

  • Strengthen border security by increasing Border Patrol & ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) agents; implementing a “catch-and-deport” policy

  • Increase domestic oil & gas production

  • Invest into mental health and addiction centers

  • Support finding a federal consensus on late-term abortion, adoption, contraception, and protecting women from criminal punishment for seeking an abortion

  • Ensure that “Communist China will end up on the ash heap of history”

  • Supports financial aid to Israel & Ukraine

  • Wants to end sales and trade with China, particularly if fentanyl remains an issue

  • Hopes to eliminate federal gas and reduce income tax to put money into middle class families’ pockets

  • Will eliminate $500 billion in green energy subsidies

  • She is also campaigning heavily on her being the daughter of Indian immigrants who grew up with nothing


Notable actions:

  • Though largely supportive of Trump, criticized him for inciting the Jan 6th attack on the US Capitol & condemned his call for a ban on Muslims

  • Removed the Confederate battle flag from the Statehouse after nine people were killed at a historically Black church in Charleston

  • Spearheaded the US withdrawal from the UNHRC

  • Created jobs and cut taxes for small businesses during her reign as governor in South Carolina

  • Argued that transgender women being involved in women’s sports majorly contributed to teenage girls’ suicide ideation

  • During her term as a UN ambassador,


Now that we understand each major candidate (as there are several more whom I did not list), who should you vote for? It’s a great question, because you can’t vote for them anyway unless you’re an 18+ US citizen, which given our school demographic, is very unlikely. That’s okay—you can wait two years for the next Canadian election!


According to early polls and predictions (here, here, here, and here), the frontrunners are Trump and Biden, with the former being slightly in the lead. Will the former president return for an unprecedented second term or will Biden cling to the land of the living long enough to nab victory? Only time will tell.






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