16 Ways This Election is Different from 2016
Why 2024 Offers A Much Clearer Choice
“Lesser of the two evils.” It is a phrase I often hear. From across all members of the Democratic Party. Moderate, progressive, conservative. That is why, so the logic goes, we should vote for President Biden. As a condemnation of Donald Trump and nothing more. “You may think President Biden is bad,” they say, “but Donald Trump is so, so much worse.”
That Donald Trump is so, so much worse than President Biden, I admit, is 100% accurate. But is President Biden bad? As I have said on previous blog posts, no. We are ultimately choosing between “a narcissistic insurrectionist” and “a fundamentally decent and empathetic elder statesman” with a strong sense of his working-class roots.
Let me put it this way: this is not 2016 redux. Joe Biden is not Hillary Clinton. The choice now is not nearly like the choice we had then. Joe Biden, in both character and temperament, is even now more fit for the presidency than Hillary Clinton—and, obviously, Donald Trump—ever were.
But perhaps you need a little more convincing. So, how exactly is this election different from 2016? Let me count the ways…
President Biden and Donald Trump were never friends. And they certainly never appeared in wedding photos together.
You can tell a lot about a person by knowing who their friends are. And whose friends they are not.
President Biden was never part of the Clinton family dynasty, a dynasty that was above all responsible “eroding the meaning of what it was to be a Democrat.” See my brother’s blog post on how the Clintons played such an outsized role in shifting the Democratic Party so far to the right. Not to mention how that shift helped create the political and economic instability we see today.
President Biden is running one of the most progressive administrations in recent years. Unlike the Clintons, Biden has moved the Democratic Party in a much more pro-working class direction. For example, he has made history by joining striking workers on the picket line. More to the point, he has backed up his symbolic presence with concrete action.
President Biden was never the constant flip-flopper that the Clintons were. Bill Clinton, by contrast, almost always took what position seemed most likely to gain him the most popular approval. That is not leadership. Secretary of State Clinton’s approach was unfortunately more of the same.
And Trump is the indisputable Flip-Flop King.
President Biden is never someone who would call half of Trump supporters “a basket of deplorables.” Unlike Secretary Clinton, President Biden knows that trying to reach Trump supporters where they are at is more effective than looking down on them. Even if Biden does not change the minds of Trump supporters in significant numbers, he can at minimum create the foundation for a Democratic Party able to speak to them.
President Biden’s personal story is more compelling than either Trump’s or Clinton’s. Biden is a man of faith whose life has been marked by immense personal tragedy. He understands pain and suffering, and he is one of the most empathetic American politicians out there.
If Biden is reelected, 2024 could be the new 1948. If we are able to wait out the economic uncertainties of the present moment—like we did some 74 years ago—then we may find ourselves in a new era of economic prosperity.
Biden’s reelection—and, hopefully, the election of a firmly Democratic Congress (i.e., one that can pass legislation without needing a Manchin or a Sinema)—will help us to make needed progress on post-2020 progressive priorities. Including overlooked ones, like the fight against police brutality.
We the people of 2024 had the unfortunate luck of seeing 4 years of Trump in action as president. All indications are that the sequel will be even worse. Much, much worse.
Donald Trump led an insurrection against our government after falsely claiming that the 2020 election was rigged against him. All this despite multiple Republican state officials rebutting his claims, frequently doing so point-by-point. These actions make him clearly unworthy of the public’s trust.
Donald Trump spearheaded a divisive, ineffective, and often bizarrely comical response to the COVID-19 crisis. In June 2020, we comprised more than a quarter of the world’s COVID deaths despite comprising only about 4 percent of the world’s population. His terrible mishandling of that pandemic clearly renders him unfit for elected office.
We the people of 2024 can also see more clearly the failures of right-wing populism both at home and abroad.
The new Trump and Republican Party agenda is just as unpopular as the old one. Their greatest hits? Nationwide abortion bans, gutting Social Security and Medicare, and tax cuts for the rich. Methinks they are in need of a new act.
Trump is Netanyahu’s preferred 2024 candidate.
A Trump win will grant Putin the opportunity to carve up Ukraine and maybe even encourage Putin to consider future invasions. Even against NATO allies.
One of the people auditioning to be Trump’s VP pick has supported raising the voting age to 25 and thus disenfranchising youth voters. Young readers, if they do not want you to vote, I would suggest you get out to the polls now. If only to spite them.
BONUS ROUND: The Clinton family scandals—though nowhere near the size and scope of the many Trump scandals—did give rise to reasonable doubts regarding their integrity. President Biden’s “scandals,” on the other hand, have boomeranged back on his own accusers.
In 2024, the choice is better and the stakes are higher. Let’s stick with President Biden. And let’s continue pushing towards a better Democratic Party and a better future for the American people.