Neither Trump nor Biden deserves America’s vote. And not for the reason you think | Opinion
The year 2024 is almost upon us, which means another election year, another chance for American voters to participate in our democratic process.
It’s a privilege and a right many don’t have. Still, the contenders this year leave much to be desired: As of now, Donald Trump is still showing a slight lead over President Joe Biden. No other Republican candidate, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, comes close.
Still, neither Trump nor Biden deserves America’s vote for a lot of reasons, but there’s one that stands out.
Biden’s America is struggling: Inflation is still almost double what it was in 2019, grocery and restaurant prices have remained high all year, causing families on fixed incomes to struggle. “Bidenomics,” the word Biden used to associate a good economy with his presidency, is now synonymous with an economy that says it’s doing well while everyone else functioning within that economy finds themselves struggling to make ends meet.
That’s not all: Biden’s foreign policy decisions, or lack thereof, have been disastrous. Israel remains at war with Hamas; Ukraine remains at war with Russia and Congress just voted to give both funding, to the chagrin of many Republicans. Biden was likely never fit to lead, but he certainly hasn’t earned a second four years.
Trump is worse.
Somehow, Trump still enthralls a faction of hardcore MAGA Republicans, but why? He’s done nothing but whine and complain since 2021. On Thursday, and with a criminal trial in March looming, Trump posted an unhinged rant on Truth Social that only his fanbase would love (or be able to decipher).
“Crooked Joe Biden’s Prosecutorial Thug, Deranged Jack Smith, who is fighting viciously to damage his corrupt bosses Political Opponent, ME, much as they do in Third World Countries, wants to take away my right of Free Speech. He doesn’t want me to speak about the Rigged and Stollen Presidential Election of 2020, where the Evidence is MASSIVE & CONCLUSIVE,” he wrote, sounding more like a 6-year-old child having a temper tantrum than a serious contender for president.
MAGA remains nostalgic for 2016, a year that ended the eight-year reign of a Democrat and portended a bright future with a conservative businessman at the helm. Unfortunately, Trump and his presidency for the most part was a ruse.
Sure, he did talk tough to our foes, secure religious liberties, and nominate three originalist Supreme Court justices to the bench, but these victories came at great cost. Now, embroiled in scandals, indictments, court dates, and financial disasters, Trump is truly running the greatest political Ponzi scheme known to man, simultaneously able to stir up controversy online and in court, while also courting adoration from millions of fans.
Biden and Trump are vastly different but they have at least one pivotal thing in common: Both men have failed at securing our border. The southern border, especially in Texas, remains chaotic, porous, and lawless. In the last few days of December, Border Patrol processed nearly 50,000 migrants entering the U.S. illegally. Gov. Greg Abbott has used everything in his power to secure the border — from river buoys to laws empowering local law enforcement to arrest migrants — but it’s not enough. Border patrol agents have been pulled from their posts to migrant processing in order to handle the massive influx. Local resources are drained. The security crisis this has caused and will continue to cause is wildly underrated.
While fewer migrants crossed the border while Trump was president, this was due to policies Biden simply reversed. Trump never did finish the border wall, something he promised.
Biden’s border policies have welcomed hundreds of thousands of migrants, overwhelming security and processing systems. Pandora’s box has been opened and even reversing these policies cannot return migrants who have overrun our border.
Customs and Border Protection posted on X Thursday: “According to U.S. immigration laws, the fact is that most noncitizens coming to our border are not eligible to remain in the United States. Asylum laws do not provide for relief solely for economic reasons or for general violence.” Chicago’s Democrat mayor, Brandon Johnson, recently said the “entire country” is “now at stake” due to the border and immigration crisis.
It is not bigotry, selfish, or zenophobic to put America’s safety and security first and to do this by making our own border ironclad. Current policies that place our nation at risk because we cannot process migrants and secure our border must be altered.
Neither Biden nor Trump is qualified to lead America for a second term. There are plenty of reasons why but in this moment, the border issue remains paramount.
This story was originally published December 29, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
