Earlier this month, the two leading candidates in the 2024 United States Presidential Election faced off on the debate stage for the first, and likely only time. The event, hosted on ABC,  lasted 1 hour, 45 minutes and was watched by over 67 million viewers across major TV networks according to Nielsen TV ratings. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump debated over the economy, immigration, foreign policy, healthcare and more, while also attempting to use their time in the spotlight to display their visions for the future of America, visions that will shape the world into which we as students will enter.

This article is a brief summary of the debate’s major themes and moments, and of the effects the debate has had on polling data and on broader culture in the ensuing few weeks. A debate transcript is available from ABC News and all debate quotes used here will follow the ABC transcript.

The Talking Points

Former President Donald Trump’s main talking point throughout the debate was immigration, specifically his claim that Democrats’ weak border policy had let waves of criminals into the country to wreak havoc. These claims often soared into the extreme (such as claiming that Haitian immigrants were eating cats in Springfield, Ohio, which the Springfield Police Department quickly denied), but in total painted a dreary picture of an America overrun by criminals as a result of inaction on the part of the Biden/Harris administration. When pressed on his own policy positions, Trump rarely explained his policies in detail. When questioned about Obamacare, he railed against it as a disaster while claiming he had “concepts of a plan” for replacing it. His explanation of how he would create the “greatest economy in the history of the country” was similarly nonexistent. 

Vice President Harris had a broader suite of major points, and she focused more on how to change the future than on the challenges of the present. She put particular emphasis on her proposed economic policies, intended to create what she termed an “opportunity economy.” Her proposal included providing tax rebates to small businesses, increasing the supply of housing, and working on cost caps for medication and other necessary consumer goods. Where Trump mostly attacked the Biden/Harris administration’s record, Harris turned to the past where needed to deflect those attacks, including her retort that she and Biden had spent the last four years “clean[ing] up Donald Trump’s mess.”

The Barbs

Harris’ main line of attack on Trump throughout the debate was to tell the audience that they were going to hear an endless barrage of lies from Trump, a point she returned to repeatedly when attacking several of Trump’s more outlandish claims. Her jabs highlighted Trump’s claim that Haitians were eating cats in Springfield and his assertions that blue states allow post-birth abortion, particularly when the moderators themselves corrected Trump. Trump’s attacks against Harris were more varied, but one common thread was claiming that Harris’ lines either were “incorrect statements” (as he said in reply to her calling his plan a national sales tax) or that her points had been given to her in advance. His attacks, however, often fell flat, especially against Harris’ requests that the audience research Trump’s platform themselves.

Another zone of conflict that wasn’t recorded in the transcript but dominated the live broadcast was their body language and use of space, particularly when listening to their opponent. Harris dominated this field from the very start of the debate, marching directly to Trump’s side of the stage and intercepting him before he could get to his podium for a pre-debate handshake. From then on, Trump appeared nervous, and he almost never looked in Harris’ direction for the rest of the debate, even when directly speaking about or to her.

Harris, on the other hand, took every opportunity she could to exploit the cameras. Every time Trump spoke, Harris spent the time looking incredulously towards his side of the room, and several of her expressions have since become memes. Her early assertions about Trump’s lying had primed the audience to expect lies; her facial expressions ensured viewers would both pay attention to those lies and react with the appropriate bafflement.

Harris’ focus on Trump’s lying did not stop some of her phrasing from falling under scrutiny for stretching the truth. In particular, NPR notes her claim about unemployment rates under Trump and about the lack of American troops in active war zones as being misleading. Harris’ statement that “there is not one member of the United States military who is in active duty… in any war zone around the world” is technically true, but US troops are still under threat, and in January of this year three US service members were killed in a drone attack in Jordan.

The Visions

While the debate is intended to let candidates discuss policy and leadership, both candidates also used it as a chance to promote their visions of America and the perspective they would take as president. Nowhere was this more evident than in the closing statements. Harris’ closing statement focused on her own policies, her ideals for the future, and her leadership, with only a single reference to her opponent. She further described her career history and experience that she would bring to the table, recounting her journey from “prosecutor… (to) now vice president” and explaining that throughout her career she has “only had one client: the people.” Harris’ debate work portrayed her as an experienced leader seeking to be a President for all Americans who will protect their fundamental freedoms while working to provide actual policy solutions.

Trump’s closing statement, on the other hand, focused entirely on Biden’s record as president and Harris’ record as vice president, and on the current state of the nation, which he depicted as disastrous. He called America “a failing nation… that’s in serious decline” and described Harris as “the worst vice president in the history of our country.” The only policy achievement from his previous term as president that he listed in his own statement was a brief claim that he  rebuilt the military, a claim he explained in no further detail. Where Harris portrayed herself as a candidate of progress and the future, Trump portrayed himself as a candidate who seeks to return America to a past that he treats as a lost golden age, without providing a roadmap for that proposed revitalization.

The Impact

Vice President Harris was overwhelmingly ruled the winner of the debate, even among conservative media outlets. However, it’s unclear if the debate performance has been influential on the electoral race more broadly. Politico polling analyst Steven Shepard argues that the debate had minimal impact, with polling averages barely changing in the wake of the debate. Pennsylvania saw a 1% shift in the FiveThirtyEight polling average from before the debate to afterwards, but that shift was the largest jump Harris saw among any swing state. Polls in Wisconsin actually shifted away from Harris, with the FiveThirtyEight polling average shifting from +2.4% for Harris before the debate to +1.9% for Harris afterwards. The cultural and media impact of the debate is undoubtedly significant, especially when coupled with Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris in the immediate aftermath of the debate, but it remains to be seen whether the media frenzy will amount to anything at the voting booth at the beginning of November.

Since 2016, our news feeds have been dominated by the presence of former President Donald Trump. As he reenters the political arena, eyeing the 2024 presidency, two questions loom large: Can he secure victory in the election, and, if so, what will that mean for the United States?

Can He Win the Election?
Donald Trump’s early actions in the 2024 election race have been noteworthy. He first won Iowa, a crucial state. Since then other contenders have begun dropping out, leaving only Nikki Haley in the race. It would appear that Trump has secured the Republican nomination. It seems that the 2024 election will be a repeat of 2020, a battle against Trump and Biden. But what are the chances Trump can pull it off?

While Trump easily clinched the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, concerns arose from exit polls. Despite winning over a substantial portion of “very conservative” voters, a significant number of independent voters leaned towards Haley. 35% of Republican primary voters. In addition, the possibility of criminal conviction lingers, causing hesitancy among some supporters. 53 percent of respondents.” 

It is promising that some Republicans are criticizing Trump and refusing to vote for him, but it would be naive to say that Biden is pulling unanimous support from Democrats. Dissatisfaction, particularly among young voters, is palpable. “I want to show the Democratic Party as a young person that you still need to earn our vote and if you don’t, the consequences will be your career,” McKenzie, a young person who voted for Biden in  2020, said. “A Republican getting elected isn’t the end. It is the beginning of a much larger fight.” 

A rematch of Biden and Trump is about the last thing most Americans want. Talk of voting for the lesser of two evils is reemerging and people continue to be dissatisfied by the two party system and the election process. However, in the midst of the chaos there exists a very real possibility that Trump could emerge victorious in the 2024 election.

What’s in Store if Trump Wins?
The events of Jan. 6, 2021, a dark day in American history, loom large as we consider the potential consequences of a Trump victory. Never before had America seen such an anti-democratic display. Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law says it best: “The violent insurrection on January 6th was an attack on democracy itself—an effort to silence the voices of millions of voters, including record numbers of Black and Brown voters who cast decisive ballots in the 2020 election.” It is obvious that Trump has no qualms about attacking democracy. If he ends up back in power, who knows what he is capable of doing. 

If he does win, will anyone hold him accountable? The answer seems to be no. The reality is he has faced the courts, he has faced impeachment, and the very systems that work to maintain checks and balances in America have failed to restrain him. An article in form The Washington Post says it best: “A court system that could not control Trump as a private individual is not going to control him better when he is president of the United States…The one check Congress has on a rogue president, namely, impeachment and conviction, has already proved all but impossible — even when Trump was out of office and wielded modest institutional power over his party.” If Trump enters the Oval Office in 2025 he will have defeated almost everything we can throw at him. This will only make him that much harder to control. With an unprecedented history of legal challenges against him, Trump’s return to power could signify further democratic backsliding.

What Can We Do?
In the face of this uncertain future, proactive steps must be taken. Voting becomes a crucial tool not only in presidential elections but also at the local level. Calling for immediate reform and pressuring President Biden to fulfill campaign promises becomes imperative to address the concerns of a divided nation. Should Trump win, it’s essential not to succumb to political apathy but to stay engaged and vigilant, ensuring that democratic values are preserved.

As the political landscape unfolds, the nation finds itself at a crossroads, grappling with the potential resurgence of Donald Trump and the uncertainties that may follow. The power to shape the future lies not just with political figures but with the collective actions and decisions of the American people.

On Nov. 8, Missouri voters will have the opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on this year’s midterm election ballot in response to a proposed amendment to the Missouri constitution. 

A vote “yes” on the proposal would effectively amend Section 21, Article X of the Missouri Constitution and allow the Missouri General Assembly to increase the minimum funding required for police forces that are established by a state board of police commissioners. The amendment would create an exception to Section 21, which otherwise forbids funding increases of services unless the state specifically pays for that increase. Because the Kansas City Police Department is currently the only state-controlled police force in Missouri, the proposed amendment would only affect the KCPD and Kansas City for the time being. The primary outcome would be an increase in the KCPD’s minimum funding by 2027 without reimbursement to the city. A vote “no” would veto this proposal. 

Advocates of Amendment 4 suggest that this bill would prevent further attempts to defund the KCPD, as explained by Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-34) who sponsored the measure.

“This [amendment] ensures the brave men and women in the KCPD have the resources they need to keep our city safe,” Sen. Luetkemeyer said.

Other advocates for the amendment express concern that our local officials are not equipped to make these decisions themselves: “The actions of the mayor and city council last year raised tremendous alarm regarding the stability of funding for something as important as the Kansas City Police Department,” Rep. Doug Richey (R-39) said.

However, critics of Amendment 4 argue that the proposal would be an overreach of government power, noting that every other city in the state maintains lo CXCV cal control.

“It just makes absolutely no sense that the state legislature would dictate how our local government should allocate its resources – all for the protection of the police in response to a false narrative of defunding,” Gwen Grant, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, said.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas weighed in on the matter earlier this year, expressing a similar sentiment: “I do not support anything that takes away our ability to work with our local police department and neighborhood leaders in terms of how we get to better solutions for violent crime.”

While the common talking points appear to mirror a two-sided debate between Republican and Democratic parties, some argue that the issue should be a place of common ground between parties.

“This is not a Black or white issue,” Vernon Percy Howard Jr., adjunct professor of at William Jewell College, said. “This is an American issue, symptomatic of a democracy in crisis and under siege, where state overreach is rampant in the stripping of voting and governance power from the people.” 

Howard – a Jewell graduate (‘86), pastor at St. Mark’s Church in Kansas City and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City – continues: “[Amendment 4] further erodes democratic principles by stripping from local communities the voice and power to determine their own policies and budgets which impact the well-being of their children, families and communities…Don’t local communities reserve the right to self-governance on key local issues?”

In 2020, Howard was also the recipient of Jewell’s Invictus Social Justice Award and the Harold L. Holliday Civil Rights Award from the Missouri branch of the NAACP for his work in organizing and educating Kansas City communities about civil rights issues and activism. With proposals such as Amendment 4, Howard emphasized that voters should be aware of their historical and local implications.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr….called this kind of overreach ‘interposition and nullification,’ citing the early mid-twentieth century movement among states to disrupt and turn back the rights of Blacks to vote and gain access and inclusion within the mainstream of American prosperity,” Howard said. “Critical thinkers and 21st century global leaders own the moral responsibility to remain awake on these issues. Particularly, the Jewell educated scholar, who takes seriously one of the critical questions of our core curriculum, which is, ‘how shall we live?'”

Election Day is on Nov. 8. Registered voters in Clay County can find their polling place here, and check their registration status here. For more voter resources, click on the link here.

In less than two months, the American people will vote in one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history. According to both national and statewide polls, there is likely to  be a new President of the United States. A poll conducted by The Economist has former Vice President Joe Biden with a commanding nine point lead over President Donald Trump. This is not a unique result as most polls have Biden beating President Trump somewhere between two and 11 points. These statistics, however, could create a false reality for the Democratic nominee and his campaign. The statewide polls create a more accurate prediction of election day.

Just as in 2016, President Trump has a narrow path to victory through the electoral college. He has to carry historically Democratic states while snagging nearly all of the swing states. The 2020 election will be decided by almost the same states that made Trump the president in 2016. These state polls show that Biden is leading Trump, but the margin between them is decreasing. The former Vice President still has a healthy lead in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida and North Carolina. However, as the first debate gets closer, and the stock market continues to skyrocket, President Trump is closing the deficit at a steady pace.

In campaign news, President Trump is under attack for the comments he made about U.S. troops. The Atlantic cites several anonymous senior staff members that have heard the President call living and dead U.S. soldiers “losers” and “suckers” on multiple occasions. This is not the first time that President Trump has had documented comments against those in the military. In 2015, he said the following about Senator John McCain, who was a prisoner of war for five years during the Vietnam War: “He’s not a war hero… I like people who weren’t captured.” Trump later apologized for his comments toward McCain but claims that this most recent accusation is nothing more than a “Fake Story.” 

During his latest campaign event, Vice President Biden once again fielded questions about his age in Pennsylvania this week. The Trump campaign has launched countless ads and other propaganda claiming that Biden is unfit for the job due to his age. Biden, who will be 78 on inauguration day, would be the oldest person to become President. Members of the Trump team have toyed with the idea that Biden’s mental capability is rapidly slipping. They reference his numerous speaking gaffes, but the former Vice President has a speech impediment that could have caused the gaffes. On ABC 27 News in Pennsylvania, Biden said the following, “I realize anything can happen to anybody at any age, any time. But I promise you I would not be running unless I was in very good health.”

COVID-19 and public health have become a key issue in the 2020 race. As COVID-19 still runs rampant in the U.S., the American people are looking towards the Oval Office for leadership. The Trump Administration has repeatedly touted what they deem was a successful response. 

“My administration will stop at nothing to save lives and shield the vulnerable,” said President Trump. According to the White House, the President and his team built the largest testing system in the world, created a way for both the private and public sector to create and secure needed supplies and spearheaded the initiative to get a vaccine out as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile, Biden released a comprehensive plan for his response to the pandemic last week. He plans on creating a system that allows every American to have access to American manufactured personal protective equipment (PPE). He will institute a restart program for any small business that went or will go bankrupt due to the economy closing. Both candidates have been critical towards each other’s response (or proposed response) since March.

The next major event for both candidates will be the first Presidential Debate – held Tuesday, Sept. 29, which will be nationally broadcasted and free to stream.