The 2024 Presidential Election Through the Eyes of the Author

First, let me say that I do not believe that Donald Trump will be the Republican candidate in 2024, and I do not believe that President Biden will seek reelection. That said, let us explore my strange and twisted mind.

First, we will talk about Trump. Section 3 of the 14th amendment, and laws pertaining to the presidential archives, prevent Trump from holding office in his lifetime. He would be forced to participate in the primary season. He is physically and mentally incapable of keeping the arduous schedule required to win a sufficient number of primaries to win the Republican Party’s nomination.

Most importantly, I do not believe he wants to run again. His enormous ego is simply enjoying the attention from his “cult.” And let us not forget that he will be 78 years old in 2024.

Potential Presidential Candidates

This places the right-wing in a difficult position. Their investment in the worst man in the world has eliminated the rise of another potential presidential candidate. Of course, the same old president wannabes, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio remain hungry for power, and other new names like Ron DeSantis, and Rick Scott, but none of them have the aura or the ability to be the President of the United States.

Only a single possibility springs to mind. Although she is far too extreme in many areas, she has been in the public eye as the Governor of South Carolina and the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. She will be the right age, 52, on election day, and I believe our nation is primed for a woman president.

President Biden’s story is far more interesting. He will be 81 years old on election day and turns 82 just a few weeks after. This is an important issue, at least for me.

I do not believe that a nation whose average age is 38.2 years, will or should elect a man of that age to lead our nation. Not only do our physical abilities continue to decline, but our mental acumen also diminishes. I hope at that age I will continue to write, but there is no possible situation that would allow me to believe I could run an entire nation.

I believe that something unexpected will occur after the midterms later this year.

First, a Presidential Little History

In 1960, John Kennedy selected Lyndon Baines Johnson as his running mate. He had a single purpose in mind. Johnson could help him with the southern vote. Of course, he was successful. This choice, combined with the first presidential debates and other factors changed history. Kennedy became our country’s first Irish-Catholic President.

Biden’s choice of Senator Kamala Harris as his vice president was multi-faceted.

Harris is the first Black-Asian American, woman to become a vice-presidential candidate. This certainly helped our next president with several demographics. However, she was much more.

Harris had proven herself as the Attorney General for the state of California, then a United States Senator. She had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2020 and is well-versed in the workings of the American government. This brings me to the following.

For what reason I cannot foresee, I believe that early in 2023, Biden will announce that he will not seek a second term. This will open the door for a Harris nomination. If elected, she would make history in several ways. I believe that she would become a very popular choice for our nation’s largest demographics, millennials, younger voters, women, and an important demographic of Black Americans.

A Possible Change on the Horizon for U.S. President

Another factor favoring Harris is that she is more progressive than President Biden. This factor will excite both Democrats and Independents. As of January 2022, 24 percent of American voters defined themselves as Democrats, 46 percent as Independent, and 28 percent as Republicans. The number of Independents is growing every day. This is the democratic ideal. Political parties are self-serving and destructive to America’s form of government.

Finally, Vice-President Harris will be 59 years old on Election Day 2024.

Of course, I could be wrong about everything. In 2016 I never believed that the American people would give the Electoral College to the least qualified candidate in history, who is a Capitalist, not an American.

Op-ed by James Turnage

Sources:

The National News: What is Allan Lichtman’s prediction for the 2024 US presidential election? By Cody Combs
Politico: 2024 ELECTIONS; by NATALIE ALLISON, DAVID SIDERS, and HOLLY OTTERBEIN

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Inline Image Courtesy of U.S. Secretary of Defense’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License