“It’s not the hand that signs the laws that holds the destiny of America. It’s the hand that casts the ballot.” – Harry Truman
For those willing to consider facts as they choose the next president, let’s look at two issues voters have identified as among their biggest concerns. With past records from both candidates, we can compare and contrast Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
Among the top concerns are age (Bloomberg News/Morning Consult, Feb.29, 2024), NBC News, Feb. 26, 2024, The Hill, Feb.6, 2024), and the economy (Pew Research Center, Feb. 29, 2024), CBS News, Apr. 29, 2024, Data for Progress March 6, 2024).
• Age While polls show this concern is greater for Biden than for Trump, facts demonstrate both candidates have memory and communication issues. Based on polling data, Democrats are well aware of these concerns.
But when it comes to Trump, right wing media studiously ignore similar or worse problems; many of these voters aren’t even aware of them. For instance, Trump took the stage in Sioux City, Iowa and thanked everyone for coming to Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Oct. 30, 2023). He complained that Biden would throw us into World War II (June, 30, 2023), He confused Biden with former President Obama by saying he was leading Obama in the polls. He’s called “Argentina a great guy” and mispronounced Venezuela several times before finally giving up (The New Republic, Mar. 4 2024). Trump mistook a poll for a legislative bill, called the country the “United Stage” and “a nation no longer respectered.” He confused Nancy Pelosi with Nikki Haley several times. If you want to see Trump in action, Google ‘Trump gaffes;’ you’ll find videos exhibiting these and other communication and memory problems, including calling his wife “Mercedes.”
It’s clear both candidates have issues, however mental health professionals see a distinction. Biden’s memory problems appear to be age related…issues most of us reading this article have experienced—forgetting words and names, as well as a loss of physical strength and balance.
But Trump’s problems are different and have been labeled as symptomatic of dementia by some leading psychiatrists. This group, “Duty to Warn”, describes itself as an association of mental health professionals specifically concerned about Trump (Newsweek, Mar. 20, 2024). It’s his confusion about reality (mistaking Biden for Obama, for example) that is a special concern. Dr. Suzanne Lachman, in the same article, said Trump would “seemingly forget how a sentence began, invent something in the middle resulting in an incomprehensible word salad—a behavior frequently seen in patients with dementia.” While there are dozens of examples of this behavior, a personal favorite is Trump comparing himself to Elton John, saying that he (Trump) was able to draw large crowds even without an organ (Trump rally in Montana, July 7, 2018). It goes on incomprehensively from there.
It isn’t age, per se, that’s the culprit for either candidate. Instead, it’s a question of functionality and leadership—that is, the ability to take in new information and make judgment calls that may require changes in direction. It’s the ability to see how decisions today will have consequences far beyond and to act accordingly. It’s the ability to accept both responsibility and challenges to those decisions and to see them in a positive, non-threatening way. It’s the capability to appoint experienced advisors who see commitment to country and Constitution as the ultimate loyalty, not party or person. Here, Biden wins. Hands down.
• The Economy There’s a caveat when comparing economies and that’s the catastrophic impact of COVID. Both administrations are, to quote Politico, bookended by the pandemic. But since Trump continues to tout his economic successes over the Biden economy, let’s look at the data.
Trump is the first president to preside over a net loss in jobs since Herbert Hoover. Biden’s administration has resulted in booming job growth and plunging deficits (politico.com/news/04/19/2024). Politico reports the unemployment rate in Trump’s last few months in office was briefly near 15%. GDP under Trump was the worst since Hoover (Bloomberg News, Aug. 2021). The economy improved dramatically under Biden. Joblessness has been under 4% for the past 2 years—the best since the 60’s. The stock market is heading for the stratosphere—a marker of confidence in our economic future. According to Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi, “the U.S. economy is leading the way for the global economy; it’s driving the global economic train.” Christian Weller, a senior contributor to Forbes, stated “the American economy and people are much better off than 4 years ago (Mar. 22, 2024). Positive indices are job stability which is more pronounced than before the pandemic, and the labor market is more stable. Average hourly wages are higher than 4 years ago and continue to rise. Further, household wealth outpaces income, homeownership has expanded and the debt burden has been reduced (Forbes, Mar.22, 2024).
BUT what Americans perceive as consumers also matter. It’s also a fact that inflation is coming down. Morningstar, a major financial services company, confirms that “inflation fell sharply in 2023. In 2024, we expect inflation to return to normal levels, in line with the Federal Reserve’s 2% target” (Bureau of Economic Analysis, Morningstar data, Apr. 28, 2024).
Again, the bag is mixed. COVID was the wrench in the economic machine impacting both administrations. Under Trump, it was worse. Under Biden, the economy is not only improving, but leading the rest of the world.
• One further distinction between Trump and Biden. Trump is an adjudicated criminal— a convicted felon. Thirty-four times over. There is that.
Marsha Shearer is a resident of The Villages and the author of “America in Crisis: Essays on the Failed Presidency of Donald J. Trump.”
