The upcoming 2024 election is unprecedented, with incumbent President Joe Biden withdrawing months before Election Day and endorsing the new Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. She will be running against former Republican president Donald Trump, as well as the Green and Libertarian Party’s Jill Stein and Chase Oliver, respectively.
“[The presidential debate] was really hard to watch, just to see Donald Trump’s arguments,” said junior Kele’a Nacua. “He would continue to not answer questions … even stating that he does not have a plan in place for when he’s president.
Other students have differing opinions.
“I don’t think I watched enough to have … a big takeaway,” said senior Diego Marenco. “I did see that there were three [moderators and Harris] versus [Trump] where they said Trump said a lot of lies, but Kamala only said one. But then I was seeing other videos where people were debunking that.”
There are many false and misleading statements about the candidates, which are only further inflamed by the Internet. A study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed 4.5 million tweets, finding that falsehoods are 70% more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than the truth. A 2018 study also suggests that algorithms can control people’s intake of information, recommending news that only aligns with a user’s views.
“[I want] someone who’s a strong leader and is really able to delegate different people.”
“A lot of people, especially young people, are really close-minded,” Marenco said. “And that goes for both political groups. I’ve seen Trump supporters absolutely disregard anything that Kamala has to say, [when] she has really good values. But there’s also [a lot of] fear-mongering going around, especially within the youth.”
Picking out the faults in a president is easy, but multiple Aragon students are also optimistic about a candidate with compelling leadership values.
“[I want] someone who’s a strong leader and is really able to delegate different people,” said senior Seth Kantor. “Someone who’s respected, not just in their party, but the other parties, and someone who’s able to really gather bipartisan support, not just from Republicans or Democrats, but both [sides].”
The two parties still disagree on many of their ideologies. Harris and Trump’s views on policies such as immigration, abortion, the war in Gaza and environmental changes are vastly different. According to the Pew Research Center, 81% of registered voters say that the economy will be an important factor for their vote in the election. 93% of Republican voters consider the economy a leading issue.
“[Trump] runs the economy really well,” Marceno said. “He’s already been one of our presidents. There were no wars … and for me and for my family, that’s what works best for [us].”
Varying policies on immigration, abortion and LGBTQ+ rights have also been present on both parties’ campaign goals.
“I like [Harris’] immigration policies … [and] her stance on Roe v. Wade, like reestablishing it,” said senior Samirah Field. “I’m voting for [the] Democratic Party. They don’t do much, but I’m gay, and I don’t want my rights taken away from me … that’s a very real possibility under Donald Trump.”
The country will vote for the next U.S. president on Nov. 5.
