In a little over seven months, the United States is facing a presidential election in which neither Joseph Biden nor Donald Trump–the presumptive candidates on the ballot–have been able to muster even a 40% approval rating. Although the popularity of other current national leaders such as Macron, Sanchez, Sunak, da Silva, Albanese, Meloni, Scholz, and Trudeau likewise have drawn abysmal support–as all of the aforementioned numbers range from 20%-50% approval–the extreme nature of this scenario is unprecedented in U.S. history.
USAToday reported yesterday that one man in Texas has gone so far as to legally change his name–from Dustin Ebey to “Literally Anybody Else”–and is now running for president in protest of the abomination that awaits the voting age public at the ballot box in November. Mr. Else, a Grade 7 math teacher, of course does not expect to win, but has been compelled to make this dramatic statement out of frustration and anger. Kudos, Mr. Else, for thinking outside the box!
Before we delve into the rationale as to why two individuals who command negative net approval ratings are destined to fight it out for the second consecutive presidential election, permit us first to examine their actions over the past several years which have cause them to be so objectionable.
First, let us examine the candidacy of Donald Trump, who—without hyperbole—could possibly be considered the most polarizing politician in the history of mankind.
Trump, 77, once said that he could “…stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and (he) wouldn’t lose voters.” (Fifth Avenue, by the way, is a heavily populated byway in New York City). Well, it all went downhill from there. Trump’s predictive insight about his popularity among his base—the cult-like MAGA (Make America Great Again) faction of the Republican Party–has proven him to be a soothsayer in that respect.
Time after time, despite the evidence of misconduct, ethical scandals, and law-breaking, his apologists have come to his defense unconditionally. Trump has been indicted four times and is thus facing four separate criminal trials for the following: falsifying business records, willfully hoarding classified documents, plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss by way of inciting a riot by his followers on January 6, 2021, and attempting to reverse the state of Georgia’s official 2020 election result. In all, he has racked up 91 felony counts.
Considered to be a right-wing populist, Trump has invariably shown a penchant for “conservative values,” embracing the Christian Evangelical crowd, and is now selling bibles. The dissonance between what the actual Christian faith allegedly stands for, and Trump’s actions, constitute the epitome of irony. Trump has threatened and insulted with vulgarity anyone who has not shown him unwavering loyalty, often resorting to tactics that would make the Mafia blush. He has even gone so far as to mock and mimic disabled people. In short, even his supporters have struggled to refute the fact that he is simply not a nice human being. He has openly vowed revenge on his political opponents should he return to office.
Trump was responsible for appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices who would play an instrumental role in rolling back constitutionally-protected abortion rights for women over the past half-century. As a businessman–though it could be argued a failed one at that–he rolled back environmental and consumer protection regulations so as to provide his corporate cronies a laissez-faire operational scheme.
Possibly most disturbingly of all, though, he slashed taxes for the uber-rich and was derelict in his duty to protect Americans against the threat of Covid-19, simply because a short shut down in the economy would have imperiled his popularity with his base, and would have siphoned the billions in profits that his CEO friends would later accrue from the inflation scam emanating from the post-pandemic environment.
As U.S. President, Trump also displayed an open admiration for authoritarian regimes, such as Putin and Kim Jong Un, and advocated for protectionist trade policies. His base has also been comprised of what is termed the “white nationalist” and even “white supremacist” sector of the populace. He has made immigration a top issue and has vowed to extend the travel ban which he instituted when in office, most countries affected of which happen to be Muslim.
The Democratic Party offers Joseph Biden, at 81 already the oldest leader in U.S. history. As such, there are massive concerns about his fitness for office based on countless events relating to his speech, coherence, and agility. Trump, of course, has pounced on this vulnerability to his advantage.
It is somewhat less clear as to why there has been no serious challenger to Biden than with respect to Trump’s situation, but—unlike Trump—Biden has been in politics for half a century and holds the political connections necessary to overcome tremendous adversity and controversy.
Biden bills his incumbent candidacy as an epic struggle to defend liberty and to stave off what promises to be the dictatorship of Donald Trump rebooted, although this time around much worse. The largest hurdle that Biden must overcome is his particularly poor rating on the economy. Though he was clearly placed in a hole by the global pandemic and his predecessors’ inadequate response to it, inflation remains high—unacceptably high to the vast majority of Americans. Though macroeconomic statistics show that the U.S. economy is on the upswing, these numbers mean nothing to the skyrocketing number of Americans who are now living paycheck-to-paycheck as never before.
Biden has also been criticized by the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party as not being progressive enough to combat the overall threat that the Trumpian agenda currently poses. Environmentalists and immigrant advocacy groups, in particular, have been dissatisfied with his performance.
However, what could quite possibly be the electoral tipping point was the lack of intestinal fortitude he demonstrated in responding to Israel’s grossly disproportionate response to Hamas’ October 7 strike. Arab-Americans–who typically vote Democratic due to the Republican Party’s pervasive Islamophobia–have “committed to not commit” en masse. This could prove to be a huge stumbling block to Biden’s success in swing states, where the Muslim faith is strongly represented.
Through the first half of Israel’s war on Gaza, Biden offered a blank check to Israel–both literally and figuratively by virtue of his bypassing Congress to sell arms to the Zionist state– and through his official press statements parroting whatever Netanyahu alleged regarding the course of events. Slowly but surely, he has verbally distanced himself from the aggressor, but whether or not his course of action truly effects meaningful change in U.S.-Israeli diplomacy remains to be seen. More importantly, will it be far too little, far too late?
Will Trump be successful in delaying the decisions on his many legal troubles past November? If he is, could he actually pardon himself via a morbidly rigged justice system in which money and power exorcise all threats to the status quo? His delay tactics have been successful thus far, and at least one of the judges presiding over his criminal cases, Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by–you guessed it–Donald Trump, appears to be on a mission to maintain her loyalties. Furthermore, even if any of the verdicts render him guilty as charged prior to November, will it really have an impact on “swing voters” anyhow? (As previously discussed, we all know his base will support him regardless).
The other options–Independents–include Marianne Williamson, of the “Justice and Love” platform; Cornel West, progressive liberal who once ran as a Green Party candidate; Jill Stein, another former Green Party alumnus; and anti-vaccination whack job Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who will probably garner the most votes to hurt either Trump or Biden, but who will of course ultimately end up wasting his time.
With the spring primary contests concluded, save for a medical issue affecting either one of the candidates; i.e., divine intervention–which undoubtedly a sizeable number of Americans are hoping for despite how “horrible” that may sound–it appears that they are stuck with Trump vs. Biden.
Those familiar with children’s literature might analogize Judith Viorst’s 1972 work, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, with the current options to continue leading the alleged “free world.” Trump has indeed been considered a “horrible” choice as president by almost two-thirds of the populace for a long time, while the numbers show that Biden has been “terrible” for quite some time, as well. However, the “lesser of two evils” mentality has taken a hit with Biden’s intransigent support of Israel, and this could indeed prove to be the tipping point for his electoral downfall, as previously mentioned.
Don’t be surprised if at the ballot box in November, write-in candidates such as “Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich” and “Mickey Mouse” accompany Mr. Ebey’s new “Literally Anybody Else” moniker.