On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his bid for reelection. According to Politico, a Washington Post poll found that 56% of respondents disapprove of the job that Joe Biden has been doing so far. The majority of Democrats who participated in the poll responded that they would prefer a different democratic candidate to be their presidential nominee. Until his campaign video was released on Tuesday, voters were unsure whether Biden was going to run for reelection due to his age. Former President Donald Trump announced that he too will be running for reelection. Let’s unpack each of their campaign speeches and videos.

Biden Campaign
In Biden’s campaign video, the most significant theme was freedom. The work of his first term was to fight for our democracy, which he believes is not a red (Republican) or a blue (Democrat) issue. He said that there is nothing more important or sacred than our freedom. “We’re in a battle for the soul of America,” he said. Biden stated that his team has been fighting “to protect our rights, to make sure that everyone in this country is treated equally and that everyone is given a fair shot at making it.” Biden goes on to say that he is running for President because he knows America. He says that we are good and honest people who believe in treating everyone with dignity and fairness. He ended his campaign video by saying “Let’s finish this job…There’s nothing, simply nothing we cannot do if we do it together.”

Trump Campaign

Trump began his speech by thanking his guests, and explaining that the United States is the greatest country in the history of the world. He believes that when he left office two years ago, America was ready for its golden age, at the peak of “power, prosperity, and prestige,” and striding into the future with confidence. During the years of his Presidency, he said, everybody was thriving. He went on to elaborate about this period of thriving success. According to Trump, he and his administration lifted many out of poverty, got inflation to become virtually nonexistent, improved relations with China and other foreign nations, and much more. Further into his speech, Trump says that we are now “a nation in decline,” and a “failing nation.” He then speaks for more than 45 minutes about how our nation under Biden is not a successful nation and is currently declining. He finishes his speech by saying that if he is reelected, as a nation “we will join together and reverse this staggering American decline.” His ending statement was “we will make America great again,” his famous and well known slogan.

Both Trump and Biden included personal attacks in their campaign. Joe Biden referred to Trump supporters as “MAGA extremists” (Make America Great Again fanatics), and accused them of making it harder for people to vote, deciding which healthcare decisions women are allowed to make, banning books, declaring who people can love, etc. On the other hand, Trump targeted Biden by saying “the past two years under Joe Biden have been a time of pain, hardship, anxiety and despair.” Furthermore, he said that inflation is the highest it’s been in 50 years, and gas prices are continuing to go up. This upcoming election is already starting to become controversial and it is important to see how MBMS students feel about it.

What Students Think
When asked what he thinks is going to happen in the upcoming election, Frederick Prelle said, “I think Joe Biden is a very unpopular president so if the Republicans get a good, qualified candidate, he’s likely to lose the election.” When asked his own opinions on this topic, Frederick said, “I don’t agree with him [Joe Biden] on a lot of his policies but I do think he is more qualified than Donald Trump.”

Eighth grader Alex Beggs had very similar opinions on this topic. “I don’t think Joe Biden is competent enough to be our president, but it’s not like Trump or any of the other candidates are better. Maybe someone younger should run,” he said. Parker Rish said, “I feel like we need someone who is not going to die in office due to their age.” However, considering the current situation regarding Donal Trump’s court case and possible arrest, Parker said, “I’d feel more comfortable under the Presidency of Joe Biden because he is not at risk of being arrested.”

The election isn’t until November 5th, 2024. While waiting, you can find additional information on past elections and voting on the Federal Election Commission website.