Just like in 2020, the 2024 South Carolina primary could be a decisive election that changes the course of the presidential election.
Four years ago, the stateof Democratic voters He single-handedly halted the momentum of his favorite candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (R-Vermont). enthusiastic an ultra-progressive minority; new political life I took him all the way to the White House for Joe Biden.
This year, South Carolina has the unique power to halt the relentless march to candidates from both parties. The oldest, most flawed, most unpopular man There will be no competition for a return to the Presidency.
In a sad commentary on the state of the world’s leading democracies, the race between Biden and Donald Trump has become a political race to the bottom. Each person justifies his or her candidacy by exploiting the other’s obvious personal flaws as a matter of moral and patriotic duty to defeat.
biden That’s all I said In 2020, he first announced his decision to run for president for a third time. Referring to the 2017 Charlottesville riots, President Trump said he “created moral equivalence between those who spread hate and those who had the courage to stand up to it.” And in that moment, I knew the threat to this country was unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. ”
He described the 2020 race as a “battle for the soul of this country.” Continued: “Our nation’s core values, our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America, America, is at stake. That’s why today I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States. I will.”
Last December, he repeated the theme That he is saving the country and the world from Trump. “It’s not our fault, we have to get it done. If Trump hadn’t run, I don’t know if I would have run. We can’t let him win. plug.”
Biden has set himself up as the only person who can stop him. Because he’s done it once before. (Even though he was four years younger and had four years less mental acuity), the poll suggest be “General Democratic Party” It would work better against Trump.
Similarly, Trump called Biden. “Threat to democracy” and claims exclusive capabilities such as “Make America Great Again.” When he accepted the nomination in 2016, and several times since, he said: “I’m the only one who can solve it.” Focusing on yourself raises questions such as: What would he do if he found an unfinished task that he believed only he could complete? defying the constitution again And will they refuse to relinquish power like they did in 2020?
Both octogenarians and almost-octogenarians share a sense of self-congratulation and personal destiny that clearly exceeds their actual merits. If they have their way, America is doomed to fall back into the cycle of vitriol between Biden and Trump.as mrs robinson I lamented In “Graduation,” he says, “No matter how you look at it, you’re a loser.”
But on February 24, South Carolina voters – Republicans, Democrats, and independents – had a historic opportunity to make a difference.
The power is well within their hands to respond to the people’s urgent calls and bring about dramatic political change.only 4% of voters I participated in the Democratic primary on February 3rd. Under South Carolina law, the remaining 96 percent of registered voters, regardless of party affiliation, Fully eligible to vote in the Feb. 24 primary..
of just what’s left The “inevitable” obstacle to Trump’s presidential candidacy is Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor and two-term ambassador to the United Nations. Highly qualified, with extensive experience in domestic and foreign policy, and deeply patriotic as the spouse of a deployed combat soldier, she is a refreshingly ordinary person. Her gritty and cheerful candidacy offers an opportunity to deliver a double political shockwave to voters in her home country. In other words, it could thwart Mr. Trump’s march to the nomination, while also obliterating Mr. Biden’s professed reasons for running.
Voters have more and more reasons to reject both men.
President Trump appears to be looking for ways to infuriate Americans and people around the world who expect stable American leadership in increasingly dangerous times. Last week, he told a story that almost certainly didn’t happen, but revealed his flawed thinking about America’s vital national security interests. He said the leaders of NATO countries, which have not yet met their financial obligations, asked whether the United States would continue to protect their countries from Russian aggression. He replied, “This is what I would say to them (Russians).” do whatever they wantFor NATO countries that are slow to pay,
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine serves the case for a strong NATO, but President Trump’s real intention is not to oppose him. greatly admire. Rather, he seems to sympathize with President Putin’s distorted interpretation of European history and his ambition to recreate a “Greater Russia.”his flattery relationship Putin’s mutual disdain for NATO suggests that the MAGA movement might be better called MARGA (Make Russia Great Again).
As Haley puts it more subtly, the first of the two parties will lead America out of this political deadlock. will win the election. She aims to ensure her own party does it first, but Democrats may still see the light and convince her Biden to step down gracefully. This Saturday, America will have a fresh start with both parties if South Carolina ends the two old birds with a decisive vote for Haley.
Joseph Bosco served as the Secretary of Defense’s Director of China Affairs from 2005 to 2006 and Director of the Asia-Pacific Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief from 2009 to 2010. He served in the Pentagon when President Vladimir Putin invaded Georgia, and was also involved in the Pentagon. Discussion of the US response. Follow him on Twitter @BoscoJosephA.
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