As the 2024 presidential election is approaching and the stakes are getting higher following the recent presidential debate, it proves a good time to introduce the presidential candidates and their policy plans for their reign. As most know, there are two main candidates: Donald Trump from the Republican party and Kamala Harris from the Democratic Party. 

Before we dive into the candidates themselves, let us address the standard beliefs and values of their political parties. The Democratic party favors the idea that the economy should work for everyone no matter their demographic or character, health care is a right to all, and diversity is a strength. On the other hand, Republicans believe in liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American traditions and fundamentals, and restoring the American dream. 

Trump has been popular for years as he was the forty-fifth president of the United States of America. Now most assume that this was his rise to fame, however, they would be wrong. He was popular before his political reign as a big-name real estate agent. Trump is the 4th child of New York real estate tycoon Fred Trump. Being Fred’s son, he already had a big name in the real estate agency. He started out working in the lowest-paid position in his father’s company but quickly rose to the top when his brother Fred Trump Jr. went on to become a pilot and left real estate behind. After former President Trump’s father died at age 43 from alcoholism, he took over and managed all his father’s clientele and portfolios. Soon, he fully took over his father’s cooperation and, in 1971, renamed it the Trump Organization. 

As a candidate, Trump is very well-rounded politically. He started teasing the idea of running for president back in 1987 however, he did not act on this tease until the year 2000. Trump explored running for president and entered the Reform Party, but he slowly backed out. Later in 2012, he decided to attempt again; however, he ran as a Republican this time around. It was not until 2015 that Trump officially declared his presidential run for the White House by placing a bid. He claimed the American dream was dead, and he was going to “bring it back bigger and better”. During his rise to president, he was known for flaunting his wealth and business success as well as accusing bordering countries of putting America in danger. His most well-known goal was to build a “bigger and better” wall across the U.S.-Mexican border. 

Former President Trump’s slogan was “Make America Great Again”. This quote alone made his following grow bigger and bigger, giving him a direct path to defeat the other Republican candidates and meet face-to-face on the ballot against Hillary Clinton. The fact that the Trump name was a well-known household name brought him to the top and made him the popular vote. He had an unfiltered campaign style that did not match the other candidates, setting him apart from the crowd and helping him defeat seasoned politicians. 

When Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign for the 2024 election, there were a lot of emotions in the air. Some were happy, some were angry, some even scared. It was unexpected for Trump to run again after all of the commotion following the 2020 election. However, his campaign is going strong as it is now down to former President Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s campaign mainly states that he will terminate every open border policy the Biden administration put in place and restore the American dream. He enforces this with his slogan “Make America Great Again”. 

Kamala Harris is the most popular and well-known Democrat in the nation. She gained attention by Being Joe Biden’s vice president; however, that is not where she gained her fame and her name in the political industry. Harris’s mother is an Indian immigrant and her father was Jamaican. This made her the first black and first South Asian vice president. Harris grew up going to civil rights protests as a child, which gave her the idea to continue her career in politics and pursue her career as a lawyer. 

Harris has a plethora of amazing work that helped her become the current vice president and helped her claim her fame. Harris is a Howard University graduate and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) sorority. In 1990 Harris obtained a law degree from UC Law San Francisco and started her career as a deputy district attorney. She was the first Black woman to be elected as the district attorney in San Francisco on top of this she was the first woman to serve as the state of California’s attorney general. Kamala was elected to be on California’s senate which made her the first South Asian senator in history. In 2020, she started her presidential campaign, but she struggled to send a clear message to her voters. She dropped the campaign in 2019 and shortly after President Biden selected her for Vice President. 

Harris has very strong and upfront policies that have set her apart from the rest of the candidates. These strong policies mainly consist of fighting for reproductive freedom, lowering prescription drug prices, and setting gun safety rules. Harris has widespread views that appeal to a lot of people. Kamala is a very smart and independent woman who has always fought for what she believed in. Now she claims she is fighting to be a voice for the people who do not have the platform to fight for themselves. 

Both candidates are very well-rounded and bold politicians who have fought for what they believe in for years. Both candidates’ political history gives them a platform to stand on. The candidates both have different qualifications and goals which they believe will help the citizens of our country. Both candidates want to make the country a better place, however, they tend to go about it in very different ways.

Article by Madeline Moyer