Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the presidential election.
The 2024 presidential election will take place on Nov. 5, and this race will be closer than ever before.
Since we last introduced the five republican candidates in the January Issue, only Donald J. Trump and Nikki Haley are left in the G.O.P. race.
By the time we are writing this, Trump just won the Missouri, Michigan and Idaho caucuses, putting him far ahead of Nikki Haley.
There are plenty of other candidates running for president in 2024, such as Cornel West, a philosophy professor who has taught at multiple Ivy League institutions and one of the harshest critics of former President Obama.
Also running is Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nephew of J.F.K. who is an anti-vaccine activist, and Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former U.N. ambassador during Trump’s presidency.
But all of these candidates are cast under the shadow of the same two men who faced off in 2020: President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.
So, what does this rematch mean for America?
First of all, their rematch shows that the political system in the U.S. favors incumbents since the majority of Americans don’t want either to become president again, but it also mirrors an extreme divide in the country.
There is a disconnect between the left and the right, where both sides simply refuse to listen to the other because there is a lack of the foundation of truth.
Almost a third of Americans still believe that the 2020 election was stolen and that Trump should have won.
If you tune into Fox News or CNN, you will hear two vastly different narratives.
If Americans seek news from platforms that disagree on fundamental truths, how can there not be a divide?
Trump faces four indictments and still claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. He has already pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Biden is under scrutiny over his stance on the war in Israel and Ukraine, and there has been rising concern about his ability to hold office due to his age.
It is crucial to exercise your right to vote. No matter whom you decide to vote for, your voice matters. Make a difference. Be heard.
Our job as journalists is not to tell you who to vote for but to present the facts as they are, bridging the gap between the two parties and trusting that our readers have the ability to see matters clearly and think critically about them.
The current divide and dissent in America do not stem from disagreements on ideologies; rather, they are becoming increasingly rooted in hostility and hatred, one that is irrational and overwhelming.
As journalists, it is our responsibility to seek the truth and present it to you, but we hope you approach it with caution, curiosity, and conscience.
We hope you ask for more than what is being presented. We hope you question the state we are in right now. We hope you can think rationally and deeply on these important matters that lie at the very center of American democracy. We hope that you be part of the change because that is what makes our work as journalists meaningful and worthwhile.