WASHINGTON – The policy differences between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are intensifying as the general election campaign gets into full swing.
But what does the choice mean for ordinary voters and their economic and cultural concerns? A rematch between a Democratic incumbent and his Republican predecessor may seem exciting to many voters, but the policy stakes are huge for tens of millions of Americans and the world.
Here are seven big issues at stake in the 2024 election.
Abortion
Opposite: Biden favors federal abortion protection; Trump opposes them. Trump supported nationwide restrictions on abortion as president, but is now playing down the need for a federal ban because Republicans are divided on the issue. Biden does not support federal restrictions.
Biden championed the Women’s Health Protection Act, a bill that would protect abortion rights under federal law in all 50 states and prohibit medically unnecessary barriers to access to the procedure. He asked voters to send a Democratic Congress that supports legal abortion to achieve it.
Trump boasted that he had overturned Roe v. Wade by appointing three of the five Supreme Court justices who overturned it, fulfilling a four-decade goal of the GOP. Recently there is Trump clearly annoyed that the backlash could cost him and his party the election. Trump said last week that the issue should be left to the states, a moved away from support due to nationwide restrictions when he was president. His new stance drew backlash from GOP allies Senator Lindsey Graham, South Carolinaand anti-abortion advocates say it is wrong and should not deter Republicans from their long-term goal of enacting some nationwide abortion restrictions.
Some Republicans are downplaying the prospects of federal abortion restrictions passing Congress, even if they win full control. Biden and his allies are advising voters to look not to recent rhetoric, but to the long history of the GOP’s support for federal restrictions.
Immigration
Contrast: Trump has promised a broad crackdown on illegal immigration and tougher enforcement actions; Biden is asking Congress to give him more tools to manage the overcrowded border and create new legal ways to immigrate to the United States.
Trump has called current border laws an existential threat to the United States, saying that migrants “to poison the blood of our country” and new “languages.” His campaign website says: “President Trump will shut down Biden’s border disaster. He will restore, restore and end recapture and release Stay in Mexico, and eliminate asylum scams. In cooperative states, President Trump will deputize the National Guard and local law enforcement agencies to assist in the rapid removal of illegal alien gang members and criminals.”
After undoing some of Trump’s policies, Biden has recently moved to support tougher immigration laws because the system is overburdened. He became the champion a bipartisan bill raising the bar for obtaining asylum, giving the United States more resources to process asylum claims and turn back ineligible migrants, and giving the president the power to temporarily close the border if migration levels trigger certain triggers. (Republicans blocked the bill in the Senate In light of Trump’s lobbyingwho wanted to use the border as an election issue.) Biden confirmed US Citizenship Actit would give people in the US illegally a path to citizenship if they pass background checks and pay their taxes.
In principle, Trump aligned himself with forces that wanted less immigration to the country, while Biden embraced the belief that immigrants make the United States better.
Health and prescription drugs
The opposite: Biden wants to expand provisions of the Affordable Care Act and give Medicare the power to cover more prescription drugs; Trump has aggressively criticized the ACA, but has not proposed a health care plan.
Biden, who was vice president when the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, sees it as a cherished achievement to protect and strengthen. The law, also known as Obamacare, which covers 45 million people through subsidies, insurance mandates and Medicaid expansion, continues to face conservative opposition.
Separately, Biden floated a provision along party lines Inflation Reduction Act This allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for 10 prescription drugs. He said that wants to increase Up to 50 if re-elected, aiming to save $200 billion.
Trump spent his four years as president unsuccessfully fighting to repeal and dismantle the law — through legislation and executive action, and by approving lawsuits to repeal it. Trump in November he called for Revisiting plans to “repeal” the ACA. He recently searched to put down and insists that he only wants to improve the law. However, it did not offer a health plan. Many GOP allies in Congress still favor repealing or repealing the ACA, including a budget By the Republican Study Committee, which has about 80% of the House GOP caucus, including Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
Taxes
Contrast: Trump’s 2017 tax cuts expire at the end of next year, and he has called for an extension; Biden has called for raising taxes on families earning more than $400,000 to fund various priorities.
A series of Trump tax cuts passed by Republicans along party lines in 2017 expire at the end of 2025. Congress and the winner of the election will decide what happens to them.
In a recent private speech to wealthy donors, Trump etchelp According to a Trump campaign official, his policies include “extending the Trump tax cuts” if elected. This will maintain lower rates across the income spectrum, with the greatest benefit for the highest earners.
Biden attacked the law as a gift to the wealthiest Americans, promising that “big corporations and the very rich will finally pay their fair share.” He supported raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% and said that “nobody making less than $400,000 will pay an extra penny in federal taxes.” Biden also calls for a $3,600 per child tax cut for families, an average tax break of $800 for “frontline workers” and a 25% minimum tax for billionaires, according to a newly released campaign plan.
The expiration of Trump’s tax cuts would restore the unlimited federal deduction for state and local taxes, which Republicans capped at $10,000 in the 2017 law. Republicans broadly support keeping the cap in place, with some exceptions, while most Democrats want to lift it.
Judges and the Supreme Court
Contrast: Their tracks tell a clear story. Trump chose young conservative judges to serve on the federal bench, while Biden chose liberals with an emphasis on professional and personal diversity.
One of the clearest contrasts is what kind of judges Trump and Biden will choose for lifetime appointments on the federal courts. A simple way for voters to think about this is whether Trump prefers new justices with the conservative views of Justice Neil Gorsuch, his first pick for the Supreme Court, or the liberal views of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Biden’s (so far only) high court pick. .
As president, Trump has nominated young conservative judges who will serve for generations. Biden is more focused on finding judges with diverse backgrounds and resumes, including civil lawyers and public defenders.
Perhaps the biggest question is whether there will be a Supreme Court vacancy in the next four years. The winner of the presidential election and the party that controls the Senate will fill it.
Trade
The opposite: Trump imposes a 10% tariff on imports; Biden’s White House opposes it, saying it would increase inflation.
Trump, who has long been skeptical of US trade agreements, proposed it Apply 10% rate to all imported goods if he returns to the White House. He recently told Fox News that imports of Chinese goods could account for 60% of that — or potentially “more.”
Biden opposes the idea. In a memo over the weekend, the White House criticized the idea of ”all tariffs that would raise taxes and prices by $1,500 for every American family,” without naming Trump; referred to a to guess According to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, Trump’s 10% tax on imports could cost the average American family $1,500 a year.
Instead, Biden sought to boost domestic manufacturing with large federal investments in semiconductors and electric vehicles.
Foreign policy and NATO
Opposite: Biden prefers Ukraine aid, Trump is skeptical; Biden supports NATO and the traditional view of American power, while Trump criticizes NATO and expresses some isolationist views.
The most obvious example of the foreign policy difference between the two countries concerns the fate of Ukraine ammo is low and says he needs US help to stop Russian aggression. Biden is an ardent supporter of aid to Ukraine, while Trump has poured cold water on US aid to Ukraine and successfully pressured House Republicans to help as they capture the majority in January 2023.
And it points to a deeper divide: Biden is an outspoken supporter of the NATO alliance as a bulwark against adversaries like Russia and China and preserves the post-World War II order. Trump has reiterated his criticism of NATO and aligned himself with a growing isolationist wing in the United States that wants less involvement in global affairs. Trump said recently As president, he would “encourage” Russia to “do what they want” with member countries that have “gone” in paying their dues.