Americans face Biden-Trump rematch
Americans face Biden-Trump rematch
Transcript
00:00 In an election year beset with uncertainties, one thing is clear.
00:05 Americans find a November rematch between U.S. President Joe Biden and his leading Republican
00:09 challenger, former U.S. President Donald Trump, even less appealing than the first time around
00:15 in 2020.
00:16 VOA's Patsy Whitakoswara tells us more.
00:21 Is it 2020 or 2024?
00:24 Why are we seeing a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump?
00:29 Both candidates poll poorly, and Trump is besieged by legal woes.
00:34 Both are seen as too old, although polls show more Americans worry about Biden, who is 81
00:40 on Election Day, compared with Trump, who would be 78.
00:44 Why is there no other choice?
00:45 Trump, he is the champion of grievance, really connected with his base on that specific dimension.
00:52 And when it comes to Biden, he is the only candidate that Democrats see that can actually
00:58 defeat Trump.
01:00 Both men benefit from a political system that favors incumbents and wield great influence
01:04 within their parties.
01:06 Biden won the New Hampshire primary, even though his name was not on the ballot.
01:11 And Trump benefits from a primary process that attracts more ideologically fervent voters,
01:17 which translates to overwhelming support from his base.
01:20 In the general election and in the broader Republican Party, Trump is not embraced as
01:25 overwhelmingly as these primary voters are, but the system is almost certainly going to
01:31 lead to his renomination.
01:33 Those loyal to Biden see him as a successful incumbent, securing legislative wins, leading
01:39 the Western response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and presiding over an economy
01:43 where recession fears have eased.
01:45 What I'm hearing is we are riding Biden.
01:47 Democratic strategist Corrine Grace Freeman said, however, unlike the unwavering support
01:52 from Trump's base, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is frustrated with Biden's
02:01 inability to fully cancel student loan debt and his response to the Israel-Hamas war.
02:07 There are many people who are like, I cannot support this president, also don't like Donald
02:11 Trump, who just feel like the Democratic Party consistently fails us.
02:18 Trump and Biden also benefit from a primary system where candidate choices are essentially
02:22 locked in far in advance due to rule changes made by states.
02:27 The party primary election dates have been moved back.
02:32 The point that most of them will have taken place before March 5th.
02:38 This means even though there are still eight months to the election, it will be very difficult
02:42 for a candidate to launch a campaign against Biden or Trump.
02:46 So unless one drops out and the party scrambles to nominate a replacement during the convention,
02:52 Americans are pretty much left with these two choices.
02:55 Patsy Wida-Guswara, VUE News, Washington.