As the 2024 general election for the United States presidency nears closer, it is important to remember the reasons we are voting, learn and educate ourselves on the ideals and formalities the candidates have said to support and make a decision that is right for ourselves and the nation. Presidential candidates can always be tricky to choose a favorite or one you will end up voting for. Citizens who align themselves with a political party sometimes will end up choosing whoever the party nominates. Other citizens will do in-depth studying on both candidates and parties to see who is the most qualified for the position of office. 

When asked about the best qualities to have in a president, I believe one of the best qualities to have, especially during the election period, is to be personable. Relating to the American people of all ages is critical if you want to secure any vote. It can be difficult to relate to a newly voting citizen at 18 years old and a Vietnam veteran of age 74, which is the relationship of my grandfather and me. If a candidate can find a way to relate to a variety of age ranges, whether at the same time or in different moments, that can help them constantly be on the mind of voters when voting. 

Another citizen that’s my age, Tim Burke, a student at St. Joe’s University in Philadelphia studying Business Administration and Marketing and a friend and former classmate of mine in high school, shared some of the qualities he would want to see in a presidential candidate. Burke being the nephew of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and he and I having had many debates in our government classes, I know he has a great light to shine on this topic. “I believe the best quality a president can have is trust. If the American people can trust their president to live up to their word, that is very positive. A worst quality to have would be a lack of communication. This goes hand and hand with trust. If you have no communication, this could lead to misinformation, rumors and skepticism amongst the American people,” Burke said. I agree with Burke in addition to that with a lack of communication to the citizens and a single country, a lack of communication would most likely be present with the world of multiple nations, leading to more difficult negotiations and talks with other governments and organizations to keep peace throughout our world

Now for this year, after the results of Super Tuesday on March 5, which is always the first Tuesday of March, where the majority of the states and territories hold their primary elections before the general election in November. This year there were 16 states, including California and one territory, that voted on who they want to see run for president as well as other office positions such as governor, senate and different state and local government positions. On this day, presidential candidates Donald Trump for the republican party and Joe Biden for the democratic party won all the states voting on Super Tuesday for their party. This means that President Biden was the most supported democratic candidate amongst all the states and vice versa with former president Trump. Within the republican party, it saw the bow out of the final candidate running against Trump, Nikki Haley. I knew this action was coming, and I figured it would happen after Super Tuesday, but not as early as it did. Dropping out the following day leads to thinking that we are going to see another Trump v. Biden election as seen in 2020. 

“President Trump’s best quality is the effectiveness of business. Working hard to prioritize the nation and fulfill the needs of a nation. For his worst qualities, he acts immature at times and has no filter. [He is] very unprofessional at times which can make him seem unfit for the job. President Biden’s best quality is the ability to listen. Fulfilling the wish lists of Pelosi, Soros, and Schumer is impressive after being asked of him to do so. His worst quality, political opinions aside, is his public speaking. Many believe, including myself, it’s the lack of mental capacity to his age/mental state,” Burke stated. With this analysis of the two primary candidates for the 2024 election, it aims to show this will be how our country will view them, as much of what Burke said is in popular opinion if you scroll through X or Instagram. 

As we enter into an already heated 2024 election period, the best way to go about voting is to start fresh in your mindset. The United States has changed a lot since 2020, when these two candidates first engaged at the podium. COVID-19 was a major crisis. The economy was experiencing fluctuations like never before and many of those who can vote now could not then, so focusing on the qualities of the candidates and the importance of the policies they side with will help lead to a better voting experience for yourself and the nation.