Joe Biden – Democratic Nominee, 81-years-old
IMMIGRATION
- Biden believes the U.S. is stronger, safer, and more
prosperous with a fair immigration system that invites
immigrants to contribute to the country. He plans to
try to overhaul the immigration system again. - Biden wants to allow people who are in the U.S.
illegally to apply for legal status and eventually
citizenship. - Biden also wants to focus on a smoother and
expanded visa process, especially for graduates of
American universities. - Additional parts of the border have been added to
Trump’s original border under the Biden presidency,
from Trump-era funds.
FOREIGN POLICY
- Biden calls on Congress to provide additional funds to
support Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion.“We will not
walk away,” is Biden’s message to Putin via the State
of the Union. - He has reiterated America’s support for Israel in its
war against Hamas.
CLIMATE CHANGE
- Biden saw success fighting global warming this term; the Inflation Reduction Act gave $375 million for
climate change initiatives, mostly through incentives for clean energy and electric car manufacturing. - He has pledged a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
ECONOMY
- Three full years into Biden’s term he has created over 15 million jobs.
- Biden has a $3 trillion plan to invest in infrastructure (things like roads, hospitals, green infrastructure,
etc.) and domestic needs; this is intended to boost quality of life and the economy. - Another plan, the America Rescue Plan, is a $1.9 trillion post-pandemic stimulus relief package intended
to help boost the U.S. economy. - Biden plans to raise taxes on the wealthy. He has advocated for a billionaire minimum tax of 25%
HEALTH CARE
- Biden promised to expand healthcare provided by the Affordable Care Act and decrease prescription
drug costs in 2020. He and his administration have participated in negotiations for a number of
drugs. He has proposed some changes to private medicare plans to improve seniors’ accessibility to
healthcare. - Biden is cracking down on global criminal networks by shutting down China-based companies that
contribute to American overdoses of deadly drugs.
CIVIL RIGHTS
- Biden has wants and plans — most of which he came up short of doing this current term — to improve
police behavior and conduct, ensure ballot access, and restore reproductive rights. - He backs the rights established in Roe v. Wade and seeks to protect access to abortion pills.
- Biden’s failure to keep some of these promises has helped result in a low presidential approval rating.
EDUCATION
- Biden seeks to implement an Improving Student Achievement Agenda, which attempts to accelerate
academic achievement in students. - Biden denounces any call for book bans in schools.
- Biden seeks to cancel student loan debt for millions of borrowers, even though some efforts to do so
have been challenged or undone.
MISCELLANEOUS
Banning Assault Rifles
- Biden has advocated for an end to gun violence. In this current term, Biden has signed legislation that
toughens background checks for young buyers, keeps assault rifles out of the hands of abusers, and
sets in place red flag laws (where authorities can take or deny weapons from people believed to be
dangerous). - His budget proposal for 2023 included more funds for law enforcement to fight gun violence.
- He has called on Congress to reinstate a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines.
Donald Trump – Republican Nominee, 77-years-old
IMMIGRATION
- Trump has previously pledged to “immediately
end the invasion of our southern border.” - Trump seeks to end illegal immigration and
remove all illegal immigrants from the country. - To secure the border, Trump plans to move
federal agents and troops stationed overseas to
immigration enforcement, as well as build more
of the border wall. - Outside of U.S.-Mexico border immigration,
Trump plans to reimpose the travel ban. He
wants to introduce “ideological screening”
for immigrants, which intends to keep out
“dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs”
in light of the Hamas attacks on Israel. - Trump also wants to end birthright citizenship to
prevent migrants. If passed, the executive order
would require at least one parent to be a U.S.
citizen or resident for the children to be eligible
for passports, social security, and other benefits
of citizenship.
FOREIGN POLICY
- Trump claims he can end the war between Ukraine and Russia before he is inaugurated.
- Trump stands with Israel and seeks to supply military support to eliminate Hamas.
CLIMATE CHANGE
- Trump has made contradictory statements on climate change. In some instances, he reports climate
change does not exist and in others, he claims climate change is important to him. - He has opposed policy efforts to boost clean energy by replacing and or removing existing policy and
creating weaker regulations, as he did with repealing the Clean Power Plan and reducing regulations
for greenhouse gas emissions. - Trump plans to exit the Paris Climate Accords as he did in his previous term, which is an international
treaty on climate change. - If elected, one of Trump’s goals for his second term is to have the lowest-cost energy and electricity of
any country.
ECONOMY
- Trump has been associated with a good economy during his time as president because of his
background as a businessman and real estate agent. - The $1.5 trillion tax overhaul deal that was passed by Trump and the Republican Party in 2017 will expire
in 2025.
HEALTH CARE
- Trump attempted to repeal the healthcare law enacted by President Obama in his last term.
- Trump has not said much on the issue lately but has continued his advocacy for addressing substance
use disorder (in 2017 he increased funding to combat substance abuse and declared an opioid crisis). - Trump has been focused on addressing fentanyl in the U.S., directing blame to Mexican drug cartels.
CIVIL RIGHTS
- Trump will ask Congress to establish that there are only two genders.
- He wants Congress to prohibit hormonal or surgical intervention for minors.
- If Trump succeeds, hospitals that provide transitional hormones or surgery will no longer receive federal
funds, including Medicaid and Medicare because the programs will no longer meet federal health and
safety standards. - Trump has been moderate on abortion and has warned Republicans against bans that are too restrictive.
He has criticized the six-week abortion bans that have become law in some states and believes antiabortion laws should have exceptions for rape, incest, and medical emergencies.
EDUCATION
- Trump has pledged and promised to terminate the Department of Education. Trump has also proposed
a program that gives more power to the parents of local schools, such as electing and firing school
principals. - According to Trump, school curricula should represent “patriotic education” to teach students to love their
country; he claims that students are currently being taught to hate their country. - Trump wants school curricula to promote the nuclear family, the role of genders, and the things that
make men and women different. - He supports teachers carrying concealed weapons, as well as providing federal funding for armed school
guards by hiring veterans, retired police officers, etc. - Trump promotes prayer in public schools.
- He said he would cut funding for any school with a vaccine or mask mandate.
MISCELLANEOUS
Dismantling ‘Deep State’
- Trump wants to reissue executive order “Schedule F,” which would allow Trump to reclassify large
numbers of employees to strip them of their civil service protections and fire them. It would focus on
“corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system.” He seeks to crack down on government
officials who leak news and information to reporters.
Homelessness
- Trump wants to eliminate homelessness by building tent cities on open pieces of inexpensive land.
- He also seeks to bring back large mental institutions for the mentally ill or deranged.
Public Safety
- Trump wants to send the National Guard to cities struggling with violence again.
- He supports increasing police powers like implementing stop-and-frisks.
- He calls for the death penalty against traffickers of drugs and women.
Trade
- Trump is continuing his “America first” agenda from 2016, which is suspicious of free trade and alliances
with other countries, like NATO. - Trump says he will institute a system of tariffs (possibly 10%) on most foreign goods.
- Much of Trump’s trade agenda focuses on China. He wants to ban Chinese companies from owning vital
U.S. infrastructure in areas such as energy, technology, and agriculture. He claims he will force any current
Chinese owners to sell anything “that jeopardizes America’s national security.”
Swing States and Votes
Candidates will focus their campaign in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. All but North Carolina swung Biden’s way in 2020, but this year all of these states remain up for grabs.
It is predicted that around a quarter of Americans are undecided. Biden has struggled to connect with young and Black voters. This is a result of failed promises and his support of Israel. Trump has struggled with the consequences of dissuaded votes because of the January 6th insurrection, the “stolen election” debacle, and his ongoing legal disputes.
Here are the key voters that can help a party win this election: Black voters have been known to help power Democratic wins, Latinx voters who Republicans have received increasing support from, and Suburban women who have been affected by/feel strongly about Roe v. Wade.
If we analyze Georgia, the state that had the closest margin of votes in the 2020 election, it is clear how the examples above can really sway the outcome. Georgia has become a swing state after being consistently Republican since the 1980s. It is hard to predict whether Georgia will go red or blue. Biden won Georgia by 0.2% — just under 12,000 votes — in the 2020 election.
Almost every state is experiencing some degree of the border crisis, but it became more serious and personal for Georgians when Laken Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was killed by an illegal immigrant. Through the subsequent politicization of her death, the tragedy has fueled heated discussions and disputes regarding border security. This could translate to votes for Trump and the Republican Party, who take a tougher stance on immigration and illegal immigration.
The Black community’s dissatisfaction with Biden could also result in more votes from Trump. This is important to note in Georgia because it ranks third in Black population among U.S. states. Georgia ranks around the middle in the Hispanic population rankings. Southern Latinx individuals have had an increase in Republican ideals, which could also result in some Republican support in the presidential election.
In Georgia, abortion remains legal up to the detection of a heartbeat, which is usually around six weeks. People (women especially) who want to see reproductive rights expanded and made nationally available could sway more votes toward Biden.
Georgians could also be dissuaded from Trump because of the Georgia voting scandal in the 2020 election. One of Trump’s ongoing cases involves him allegedly attempting to reverse the voting results in Georgia. In total, he faces indictment on four separate occasions, involving 91 felonies related to mishandling classified documents, election interference, the Georgia case, and a hush-money scheme. Trump has denied any wrongdoings. Despite attempts by Colorado to remove him from their ballot, the Supreme Court ruled such a removal as unconstitutional. Trump’s earliest trial date (regarding the hush money scheme) is set for late April, raising questions about whether proceedings can conclude before November and the potential for a self-pardon by a sitting president.
Swing states will be pivotal in deciding who will be victorious in the upcoming presidential election.
Both candidates have relatively low average approval ratings throughout their respective terms, with Biden’s at 43% and Trump’s at 41%. The state of the country looms in the balance between the two oldest candidates for the U.S. presidency in history. Stay informed about what is going on, and get out and vote.
Election day is Tuesday, November 5th, 2024. To learn more about
how and where to vote, check https://georgia.gov/voting
