America – the land of the free and the home of the brave. But how free and how brave are we? With 270 votes to win, Americans flock to the Polling Stations creating lines that would make your eyes water and your feet ache. So who will win? Join US for Election 2024: Healthy Debates and Hilarious Insights from CMX Chat.

Election Day – Why Care?

2024 Election Chat Debates are hot off the press right now, but why should we even care that it is election day? Why should we bother going to vote? Firstly, if you are old enough, it is part of your human rights to vote for who you want to represent you in your government. So, when it only comes around every 4 years, why not take advantage of that and go for it? Ultimately, you deserve to, so you should! Secondly, people have been fighting for everyone’s right to vote since 1780s. Since Thomas Paine trying to expand the voting system beyond property-owning white men, through Susan B. Anthony fighting for women’s suffrage in the late 1800s, and Martin Luther King Jr fighting for Civil Rights for African Americans, all the way to the modern day with Stacey Abrams pushing for continued voting rights. These people have done the hard work so that all you have to do is wander down to the polling station and tick a box (or click it, depending on where you are).

Who are the 2024 Election Candidates?

Trump:

Donald J Trump was born in Queens, New York in 1946, to a German Immigrant Father and a Scottish Mother. He won the Presidential Election in 2016 and was the 45th President of the United States of America for the Republican Party. With his orange-tinged tan and floppy blonde hair, his entire face has become a meme. He has been a staple of American sitcom television since 2004, hosting The Apprentice, which highlights the key phrase “You’re Fired!”. When he didn’t win the 2020 election, that came back to haunt him. His career is somewhat different from your usual political icons:

• He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968.
• His father made him president of the family real estate business in 1971.
• From 2004 to 2015, he co-produced and hosted the reality television series The Apprentice.
• Trump won the 2016 presidential election as the Republican Party nominee against Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton.
• He was the only U.S. president without prior military or government experience.

Harris:

Kamala Harris was born in Oakland, California in 1964, to a Jamaican-American Father (Donald J Harris – that’s right! Donald J! Weird huh?) and an Indian Mother. She is currently the Vice President of the United States of America and she is the Democratic Nominee for Presidency in 2024. With an ear-piercing laugh, which has been popularly compared with a hyena and an accent that debatably changes at the drop of a hat, she will be memorable for years to come whether she wins or not! She has had a more anticipated career for a politician so far:

• She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
• She was recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
• She was elected district attorney of San Francisco in 2003.
• She was then elected as attorney general of California in 2010 and reelected in 2014. Harris was the first woman, the first African American, and the first Asian American to hold each office.
• She won the 2016 Senate election, becoming the second Black woman and first South Asian American U.S. senator.
• Harris was selected as Joe Biden’s in 2019 as his running mate.

The Key Election Topics

1. Protecting Reproductive Rights

• Harris: Following Roe v. Wade, Harris now advocates for federal protections to ensure access to safe and legal abortion and other reproductive services nationwide.

• Trump: Since the decisions on abortion laws changed to state level decisions, Trump believes that this should be left to individual states, asserting that a federal mandate infringes on states’ rights.

2. Environmental Issues

• Harris: She is pushing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, advancing clean energy, and addressing environmental justice. She advocates to protect vulnerable communities, which often bear the brunt of pollution and climate change impacts. Her key plans include green job creation and transitioning to renewable energy sources.

• Trump: Trump supports expanding oil, gas, and coal production, aiming to make the U.S. “energy independent”, thus reducing reliance on foreign energy sources. He opposes climate regulations that he believes hurt American jobs.

3. Improving Gun Safety and Reforming Gun Laws

• Harris: Harris has advocated for stronger gun control measures, including background checks, banning assault weapons, and implementing red flag laws due to mass shootings and gun violence rates. Her stance emphasizes making communities safer while also respecting responsible gun ownership.
• Trump: Second Amendment rights are strongly defended by Trump and his approach is to push for more mental health support to ensure that mass shootings and gun violence are lessened through these initiatives.

4. Strengthening Border Security and Immigration Reform

• Harris: Harris advocates for a balanced approach, looking to use technology to strengthen border security. She also advocates for the protection of asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants, looking specifically to reduce the backlog in the immigration process.
• Trump: Trump advocates for stricter border security, including finishing the construction of a border wall and increasing deportations for undocumented immigrants. He believes that this will reduce crime, drug trafficking, and protect American jobs.

5. Revitalizing the Economy

• Harris: Her plans focus more on clean energy jobs, raising the minimum wage and expanding childcare opportunities to get people back into the workforce. She also champions tax reform to close ‘loopholes’ to ensure corporations pay fairer taxes.
• Trump: Trump’s economic policies center on bringing jobs back to the U.S. by incentivizing American manufacturing, implementing tariffs on foreign goods, and prioritizing American companies. He aims for these measures to protect American workers and reduce reliance on foreign economies.

Election 2024 Best Comical Moments:

Every election has stumbles and trips from each candidate along the way – this election is no different. Here are some of the best:

Trump:

“They’re all garbage,” – though he released a statement ‘clarifying what he meant’, Joe Biden called Trump voters ‘Garbage’. In true, cartoon-like, Donald Trump fashion, he responded hilariously. He swapped out the Phantom Rolls Royce for a branded Garbage truck.

“He was ALL man,” the unquestionably flattering words Trump used to describe his friend, pro-golfer Arnold Palmer. Trump was attending a rally in Pennsylvania and in an effort to honor his late friend, Trump made it clear that Palmer had always been the talk of the locker room with his large… physical presence. Palmer’s daughter didn’t find it too funny and it was all a bit bizarre.

Kamala Harris claimed that she once worked at McDonalds in an effort to show that she understood how working class people feel and live. This became disputed and a topic on many people’s tongues. In response, Trump decided he wanted to work there too, but on his time, there would be no dispute that he certainly did.

Trump loves a rally (except the one where he was shot at – understandably), but while people have mixed opinions about the rallies themselves, nobody can overlook the 78 year old man doing some seriously bad-dad dancing on stage.

Harris:

While at a rally, no matter what side you are on, you often find yourself chanting “U.S.A!”. At Harris’, she blushingly found own name being shouted. As the crowd chanted wildly “Harris! Harris! Harris!” she cackled, as she does, and said “…now chant your own name!” which fell to complete, pin drop silence. Awkward…

Each candidate wants to really connect with their voters. Sometimes, the candidate finds a few buzzwords that they feel will hit home with us mere mortals. For Harris it was “I grew up in a middle class family’. She referenced this approximately 15 times, which in itself, became a cringey joke for many across the USA. However, she ain’t got nothing on Kier Stamer, the Prime Minister of the UK, who referenced that his ‘father was a toolmaker’ over 30 times. Just stop, we get it.

Public speaking isn’t for everyone and as we all know, there are some people who think they are good at it, when they simply are not. Others, mainly politicians, are just really good at saying a lot of words, that have no meaning – normally when they are asked a question about policy by a journalist. Harris is incredible at this, with many commentators describing her ability to waffle her words as a “word salad”.

Strong words are always used by both sides. The words “Fascism”, “Racism” and “Sexism” are but a few that get hurled from one side to the other. One embarrassing moment came when Harris’ team likened Trumps Rally at Madison Square Gardens to a Nazi Rally. The reasoning behind this being that this location was used in 1939 by Nazi’s to rally people towards their cause. The embarrassment however, is that Democrats have used this same location themselves multiple times in the last four decades.

Insights from CMX Chat on U.S Politics:

As usual on CMX Chat, we have had several healthy debates that normally turn into a good amount of laughs and fun. Plus, always a fan of our AI image generating features, our users used AI to create some awesome images to show who they were voting for. Our moderators know how to keep election debates friendly online and they do a great job at it too. They like to encourage healthy political debates online and add a spice of humour where possible. This ensures fairness, free speech and an awesome community spirit.

We started November 5th with some positive messages from our Moderators wishing everyone in the US a Happy Election Day. Straight from that moment, the debate began but so did the encouragement to get out and vote.

We had several hilarious examples of how our members use our in-built AI image generator to create some incredible images to support the candidates of their choice. This included a fully customised Chevvy, decorated in red, white and blue. I wouldn’t put it past someone to actually own that car…

Elections always have levels of fear and apprehension. One user asked if the Purge would genuinely be on the table and they voiced their fears on this. Other members jumped in to reassure them and remind them that democracy is still real and alive. The kindness, even between those who are voting in different ways, has been lovely to see.

As the polling stations closed, and the votes began being counted, our members from outside the USA, of which we have loads, wanted updates on the numbers. Our users shared links so that others could watch on around the world. When others wanted more information on candidates, they also willingly shared sources to help them brush up on their knowledge. If that isn’t a brilliant online community of people, I don’t know what is!

So as the votes get counted, we’ll all be watching on with baited breath. Ahh democracy, you never fail to get us chatting, get us arguing and get us buying some popcorn. With the predictions in this race being so close, what does it mean for the half of the country that don’t win? Just remember, whichever side loses, they’ll have a pre-prepared speech about how the voting was rigged, or how someone did something to make them lose. Don’t fight your family about it, don’t fight with your friends about it. For us 99% of the US, both Harris and Trump don’t even know our names. But we certainly know theirs.

To Join in the debate and watch with others as the votes are being counted, Join Our Chat or Our Discord. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts!