Young Voters and President Biden: A Plea

As we approach the 2024 presidential election, it has become abundantly clear that former President Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to secure the Republican nomination. His overwhelming victories in Iowa and New Hampshire have dealt a major blow not only to Nikki Haley’s battered campaign but also, more symbolically, to the anti-Trump flank of the Republican Party, which has seemingly become a minority overnight. While a small group of Republican naysayers persist in their rejection of Trump and remain revolted by his promotion of reactionary populism rather than pragmatic conservatism, Republican voters across the country appear to be united behind Trump, despite his undeniable insurrection of the United States Capitol on January 6, xenophobic rhetoric, and his many criminal indictments, including a racketeering case in Georgia and a federal case overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith concerning the attack on the Capitol.

Considering these unflattering realities, why does Donald Trump have the overwhelming support he has? Why do voters prefer Trump’s chaos over Haley’s stability? While Trump’s support eight years ago can mainly be attributed to him being a political outsider, he has since been able to use his politically unorthodox personality to successfully develop a cult of personality, captivating and energizing working-class voters in key swing states despite whatever legal controversy he’s embroiled in. His sheer audacity and willingness to say everything that’s on his mind, as well as his vow to protect free speech through the advent of his Truth Social platform, has maintained his popularity among voters, who feel that the federal government is working against them and believe Trump will stand up for their interests. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that a CNN poll from August 2023 estimates 69% of Republicans still believe Trump’s claims that Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election, despite his failed legal challenges and the lack of evidence suggesting widespread voter fraud. Trump’s criminal indictments, as well as Colorado and Maine’s decisions to remove him from their primary ballots, have also allowed him to portray himself as a martyr under attack from the establishment which is hell-bent on silencing his movement, which has only helped his popularity soar. When Trump notoriously boasted that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose votes, the comment wasn’t initially taken seriously. If these past three years have shown us anything, it’s that his comment turned out to be true.

If Trump is reelected, his presidency will cause irreparable damage to the United States. While he claims otherwise, his campaign is not focused on issues as whatever platform he has is buried underneath thick layers of scandal. We have no reason to believe that it will not, instead, be focused on political retribution. While Trump may claim to have been kidding when he vowed to be a dictator only on “day one,” responsible voters must take this comment with a hefty grain of salt, considering the damage he has already inflicted upon our storied institutions and the doubt he permanently sewed into the integrity of our elections. Regardless, such a comment conveys a repudiation of the separation of powers that lies at the heart of our political system.

If Trump is reelected, his presidency will cause irreparable damage to the United States.

His remark that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of this country” is alarmingly xenophobic and conveys his outright ignorance of the positive historical impact immigration has had on the United States. While he may implement measures that decrease inflation, lower unemployment, and boost economic growth, he will be an ultra-conservative on hot-button culture war and social issues, such as abortion, LGBT rights, education, immigration, and the environment. His irresponsible rhetoric will widen the schisms in an already deeply polarized and divided country, a segment of which has shown a willingness to resort to acts of political violence to maintain a monopoly on power. If all of this wasn’t enough, Trump continues to deny that President Biden legitimately won the 2020 election, fearmongering the American public into falsely believing that our elections are marred by widespread voter fraud. Trump’s poor character, lack of moral compass, chaotic and erratic demeanor, dangerous rhetoric, extremist agenda, age, and inability to compromise collectively make him wholly unfit to be president again, and his soaring popularity shows that the United States could soon be in the grips of the far-right. The country must avoid this possibility for its own good.

While Trump will certainly lead the country down a dark and dangerous path if he is elected, the simultaneous reality that voters, particularly young voters, are not as passionate as they could be about preventing this possibility from coming to fruition is extremely mindboggling. Young voters generally disapprove of President Biden, and understandably so. They want newer, younger leadership, and concerns regarding his age and mental fitness persist. Some of his more controversial policies have been rightfully scrutinized, and he is a decidedly weak and uninspiring political figure who is terrible at delivering speeches. These are all valid criticisms. After all, if one side of the ticket presents an existential threat to the foundations of our democracy, it’s a reasonable expectation that the other side presents a starkly different vision.

Joe Biden has not been a great president. While inflation has marginally decreased since he took office, gas and food prices remain uncomfortably high for most Americans. Even though high inflation resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an issue voters blame Biden for. His hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan rightfully warranted condemnation. He initially pitched himself as a pragmatic centrist, yet the centrist and conservative factions of the Democratic Party have lamented his embrace of progressivism. He has done a terrible job managing the influx of illegal immigrants at the Southern border and the flow of illegal narcotics into the country. But what most young voters resent President Biden for is his handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Pro-Palestine young voters complaining that he hasn’t done enough to condemn the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians and pro-Israel young voters complaining that his efforts to support Israel haven’t gone far enough. These criticisms are valid, but let’s be honest: they aren’t exclusive to President Biden. Any other president would have faced the same criticisms had they needed to deal with a conflict of this magnitude and with such a storied and emotionally fraught history. Biden being president during this conflict is simply a case of unfortunate timing; had a Republican been president instead during this conflict, young voters would have reacted the same way. Considering how polarized the conflict is, and how the context of the conflict set Biden up to fail from the beginning, young voters on both sides should be willing to cut him some slack when they head to the polls.

Joe Biden has not been a great president.

President Biden’s missteps have motivated young voters to pursue other options, such as left-wing philosopher Cornel West, who is running as an independent and comes off as a bolder, more forward-thinking leader, although he is not much younger. They have also signaled openness to not voting at all, citing dissatisfaction with the major parties, the two-party system, and the Electoral College. However, young voters must realize sooner rather than later that voting for a third-party alternative like West or doing nothing are equally irresponsible decisions. While President Biden has not been perfect, young voters must not overlook his successes. He has done an excellent job providing funding and resources for the Ukrainian military in their fight against the invasion of Vladimir Putin. The unemployment rate has hit a fifty-year low, jobs have been added to the economy in record numbers, and there has been steady GDP growth. The American Rescue Plan was a much-needed solution to revitalize the economy following the pandemic, and he must be given credit for acting swiftly to provide households, individuals, and businesses with financial relief. He enacted the CHIPS and Science Act, which bolsters American semiconductor production. He successfully nominated the first Black woman to the Supreme Court. He signed the landmark Respect for Marriage Act into law, which requires the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages and states to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. But above all else, he possesses the proper character to be president. He respects our democracy, does not cast doubt upon our institutions, and is a decent, empathetic human being who is a stable and confident leader instead of a megalomaniac. He cares about the poor, LGBT Americans, factory workers, and veterans, and has shown that through his legislation. Young voters must weigh the good with the bad, and then vote accordingly, as is supposed to be done.

Let’s set our problems with Biden aside and accept that while he’s not ideal, he is an exponentially better option than his counterpart.

When Donald Trump espouses policies that pose such a grave threat to the future of the United States and possesses a character so antithetical to the concept of a president, it is imperative that young voters, whether they be progressive, liberal, moderate, registered Democrats, or independents, unite behind Biden despite his many problems. Yes, it is a shame that contemporary politics revolves around voting for the lesser of two evils, but for right now, we must accept that this is just the way it is and not pursue an idealistic vision if it means inadvertently electing Donald Trump. Conversations about making long-term reforms to our political system, such as abolishing the Electoral College and instituting ranked-choice voting nationwide, need to happen and should happen, but not during such a critical moment for our country. For now, let’s set our problems with Biden aside and accept that while he’s not ideal, he is an exponentially better option than his counterpart. Let’s work within the system, not against it.

Jack Samet ’27 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. He is a Staff Writer for the Washington University Political Review. He can be reached at jack.samet@wustl.edu.