On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured the nominations for their respective parties, beginning off the first US presidential election rerun in nearly 70 years.
Biden successfully passed the 1,968 delegates required for the nomination on Tuesday, after primary results from Georgia, Mississippi, Washington state, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Democrats living aboard became available.
Meanwhile, Trump won the 1,215 delegates required for the Republican presidential nomination in four states, including Georgia, where he is facing criminal charges for overturning the state’s 2020 election results.
The contests were held in Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, and Washington.
Biden, 81, made a statement after securing the Democratic nomination, taking aim at Trump’s “campaign of resentment.”
“Voters now have a decision to make regarding the destiny of this country. Will we stand up and defend our democracy, or will others tear it down? Will we restore the right to choose and defend our freedoms, or will fanatics take them away?” he asked.
In a video released on social media, Trump stated that there was no time to celebrate and instead focused on defeating Biden, whom he referred to as the “worst” president in US history.
“We are going to drill, sweetheart. We are going to close our borders. We are going to do things that no one has ever seen before. And we’re going to make our country’s economy the best in the world,” Trump declared.
Biden also faced resistance during the Democratic primary campaign, but leftist activists were dissatisfied with his backing for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, prompting a sizable minority of Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in protest.
Trump, 77, responded to his 2020 election fraud accusation during a rally in Georgia, accusing Fulton County Attorney Fani Willis of prosecuting him for political reasons.
He also criticized Biden for failing to control the influx of migrants at the US southern border, which he intends to target throughout the campaign.
