Nov. 25, 2024

November 5 marked the end of the longest SNL skit to date: the 2024 Presidential Election.  Featuring unlikely co-hosts Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and guest Joe Biden, this year felt like a fever dream.  

June 27, 2024, marked the first presidential debate.  This debate, which starred former President Trump and President Biden, was laughable.  President Biden continually stumbled over his words, most noticeably when border control was the subject.  In response to Biden’s mumbles, Trump said “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence and I don’t think he knows what he said either.”  

The microphone was muted throughout the debate after each of the participants’ turns as if teaching little children to wait their turn.  This technique was obeyed until Mr. Trump mentioned the controversial policy of golf, at which point the candidates could no longer control themselves.  For the first -and only- time that night, both microphones were turned on, and the politicians spent two minutes debating over golf handicaps.  This was easily the most heated debate of the night.

Later in the election, President Biden’s candidacy was swapped with Vice President Harris, who was quick to ask for the support of the United States’ most important political figures: celebrities.  Throughout her campaign, Harris collected thirty-seven celebrity endorsements, spanning from Taylor Swift to Jennifer Aniston.  However, one of my favorite endorsements was Rachel Zegler, an upcoming actress who starred in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and will be playing Snow White in Disney’s live-action Snow White set to release in 2025.  Not only did Zegler make her support for Harris known, but she consistently stated her hatred for Trump and his support.  Following the election results, she excellently displayed the Democratic party’s quality of “tolerance” through her post on X saying “may Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace.”

Aside from her celebrity endorsements, in an attempt to grow in popularity and relatability among voters, Harris also stated that she had worked at McDonald’s.  Trump did not believe her, claiming that she did not work at the fast food chain.  However, he did not stop there.  On October 20, Trump was seen serving fries to McDonald’s customers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  While he seemed to be having a ball, he did not miss the opportunity to make a dig at his opponent, stating “I’ve now worked for fifteen minutes more than Kamala.”  Not only did this act insult Harris, but it increased Trump’s popularity, specifically through a photo of him in the drive-through window, which became one of this election's most iconic images.

Trump quickly managed to turn his admiration gained from McDonald’s into disrepute through one of his closing rallies.  On October 27, Trump held a rally at Madison Square Garden.  While the majority of the event went smoothly, one of the speakers made disrespectful remarks about the US territory of Puerto Rico.  Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called the territory “a floating island of garbage,” sparking irritation from both sides of the aisle.  The statement was out of touch and wildly inappropriate for a political rally, especially one trying to appeal to all Americans.  The Trump campaign recognized this following the backlash, and distanced itself from Hinchcliffe through a statement saying “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or the campaign.”

The insanity of the election raises the question of “how?”.  How did the United States, a country that once demanded respect from both foreigners and international governments, become such a joke?  The answer to this is gray, but I believe that it is the citizens who have allowed for such a downfall.  Politics is downstream of culture.  American politicians can only get away with what the people allow them to.  If we want to once again live in a respectable country, Americans must push for change amongst themselves.