Every presidential election cycle is unique, but 2024 was a particularly insane and completely ridiculous election year, making it unprecedented and unpredictable.
One candidate survived an assassination attempt by tilting his head slightly during a rally and being shot in the ear. The presumptive candidates of the major parties, including the incumbent president, were replaced on the ballot. McDonald's politics, Arnold Palmer's genitals, eat cats and dogs, dreams, hopes and ambitions — That was an exciting event.
But on election day, there are still four unanswered questions that need to be pondered. These are questions and thought exercises that are messy, nuanced, and cannot be resolved with a final answer. But these are the kind of “what if” scenarios that will be discussed and debated for years to come as to how they defined the strangest political year in American history.
1. What would have happened if Biden had not forced a June debate?
On May 15, President Joe Biden challenged former President Donald Trump to two debates without prior warning or prior reporting of the possibility. social media video. Mr. Biden confidently said, “Let's enjoy our day today.'' Within hours, the Commission on Presidential Debates was abandoned. biden and trump independently agreed He joined CNN for the June 28 debate, the earliest general election debate in modern times.
That would ultimately prove to be a fatal mistake for Biden. Biden's on-stage blunder immediately sparked calls for his resignation, and he resigned weeks later. I pointed out before the debate that this was one scenario that could favor Democrats. Moving the debate forward so quickly gave Democrats enough time to oust Biden in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Could it have been a setup? And what if one side doesn't agree to the plan? What if first discussion Did it remain on September 16th as originally planned? There wouldn't have been a major interference incident before the convention by the Democratic Party establishment and media elites to force Biden out of the shadows. Perhaps another event could have been created.
But if the debate fiasco had occurred in September, Democrats would not have had time to develop an alternative plan. America will be dealing with the possibility of an incoming administration with a leader in apparent cognitive decline.
2. What happened to Biden signing his resignation letter?
biden sent an open letter On July 8, he announced to Democratic members of the House of Representatives that he would remain in the race. Just 13 days later, someone posted: his letter Withdrawing from the campaign on his social media accounts. The signs don't look the same. The open letter was probably signed via autopen, but the signature on his resignation letter looks different. all other versions It's his actual signature.
When you look at this letter — it's clear that Biden was effectively blackmailed into writing and posting it by prominent Democrats like Nancy Pelosi — you think there's something wrong with the signature. You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to conclude. That's underlined, but it seems like something Biden has never done before. And the strangest thing is the last letter, which clearly looks like an “s”, as if it is signed “Biden”.
The mystery of the strange signature reveals broader questions about who is really running America. If Biden is not the nominee, how can he remain president until January? And questions Harris still can't answer. Looks like I found it The credible answer to that is why she couldn't understand what the whole world was seeing on that debate stage during her more than three years as vice president.
3. What would happen if Harris had a Democratic challenger?
As we now know, Ms. Harris was able to secure a replacement, in part because Mr. Biden formally announced his support for Ms. Harris shortly after her resignation letter. But we also know that there was no grand plan to replace Biden before he left, or even in the hours and days afterward.
In fact, Mark Halperin, the longtime journalist who broke the news that Biden was withdrawing from the race, said: first reported The plan was to hold a public convention with Harris as one of a small number of candidates, he said. meanwhile conversation with Tucker Carlson said last week that his plans may have changed, in part due to backlash from Democrats over his reporting.
What if Harris actually had to endure an actual, if brief, primary process? What if California Governor Gavin Newsom, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, or Pennsylvania Governor Could she have won the nomination if Josh Shapiro had been involved? If her historic unpopularity ultimately proves her fate on Election Day, Democrats may regret replacing her immediately.
4. Would a little bit of legal trouble have gone a long way?
On the Republican side, Trump has a wide range of vulnerabilities that have been exposed at times throughout this campaign. Harris cornered him during the presidential debates, where he never stuck to his guns and always took the bait.
But perhaps his biggest weakness, the multiple lawsuits against him, turned out to be largely irrelevant. The Harris campaign seems to be struggling to get its point across, making little mention of Trump being a “convicted felon.” In exchange for not being able to charge President Trump with violating the law, prosecutors are unable to charge President Trump with violating the law, even in cases related to January 6th, highly classified document cases, or even cases in Georgia, where competent litigators are available. is stuck in a legal quagmire.
The New York corporate records case was absurd to those who are not strongly partisan against Trump. And in the final stages of the campaign, the Republican candidate was able to avoid other charges, nullifying the blow against him. If the left had been less heavy-handed with the legal process, perhaps they could have salvaged something legally important.
So instead of being able to answer any of these questions, we drift toward Election Day in the race we deserve: a dumpster fire of chaos, an election of chaos.
NewsNation contributor Steve Krakauer is the author of “Uncovered: How the Media Get Cozy with Power, Abandoned Its Principles, and Lost the People” and editor and host of the Fourth Watch newsletter and podcast.
