Political parties change direction: 2024 election updates

The upcoming presidential election is only 64 days away, and election day is rapidly approaching. While there is still time to prepare for Nov. 5, several major political events occurred this summer.

The schedule of political activity this summer began with the first debate for the 2024 presidential bid. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump traveled to CNN’s studio in Atlanta, Georgia June 27 for the event.

According to the Associated Press, this debate provoked major changes for the election because many viewers saw “Biden’s uneven performance” and wanted him to discontinue his run for reelection. While Biden struggled to clearly articulate his arguments for abortion rights, most of Trump’s responses focused on the country’s current foreign policy issues and the Jan. 6, 2021 protest.

Three weeks later, on a sunny day at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump took the stage and began addressing the crowd before him. After he spoke for about six minutes, eight shots were fired, and Trump quickly ducked down behind the podium as Secret Service agents surrounded him.

Trump suffered a minor injury to his ear, and one man named Corey Comperatore, who was seated behind Trump, died from a gunshot wound. David Dutch and James Copenhaver were also injured at the rally, according to CNN.

Secret Service snipers intercepted the shooter by firing two fatal shots back. According to the Associated Press, the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was a native of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

The shooting is still under investigation as a bipartisan task force, led by Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Kelly, revisited the site of the shooting Aug. 26. The task force’s website says that it hopes to “understand what went wrong on the day of the attempted assassination,” according to a report by Fox News.

Two days after the shooting, Trump revealed on Truth Social that Ohio Sen. J. D. Vance was his vice presidential pick, according to the Associated Press.

While in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Republican National Convention (RNC), Trump formally received the Republican Party’s presidential nomination July 18, according to Fox News. The convention occurred July 15 through July 18.

President Biden released a statement on X three days later formally announcing his decision to leave the presidential race. The 81-year-old president felt the need to drop out of the race partly because of the Democratic Party’s rising dissension over his campaign, according to a report by the New York Times.

Shortly after his announcement, Biden said in an interview with CBS News that “a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and the Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned that if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic.”

On that same day, Biden also said that he would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to run for the 2024 Democratic nomination. According to USA Today, it was not long until Harris responded to the president’s message and officially announced her intention to run for president.

According to the Associated Press, Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her vice-presidential pick for the 2024 race while at a rally in Pennsylvania on Aug. 6.

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) was based in Chicago and ran Aug. 19 through Aug. 22. Harris received the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination and gave the closing speech on the last day of the convention, according to CBS News.

One day after the DNC, Aug. 23, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced his decision to cease his run for president as an independent candidate. Kennedy proclaimed that he endorsed Trump and accompanied the Republican nominee at a rally in Arizona to cement his decision, according to the Associated Press.

Kennedy started to withdraw his campaign in Arizona and Pennsylvania during the week of Aug. 23. Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin will not allow Kennedy to completely withdraw since the election is just over two months away. While he said he would suspend his campaign, supporters in several states with less impact on the election will still be able to vote for him.

The next presidential debate will be hosted by ABC News. Harris and Trump will meet for the debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia Sept. 10 at 9 p.m., according to CBS News.

All facts from this story were accurate as of Sept. 2.

Davis is the Editor-in-Chief of the Liberty Champion