President Donald Trump formalised his bid to become his party’s presidential candidate on Tuesday with victories in Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington. These victories pushed him past the 1,215 delegates needed to become the Republican nominee.
Trump’s biggest challenger was Nikki Haley, whom he had earlier knocked out of the race.
Trump’s victory was mirrored by President Biden’s who became the party’s nominee when he won delegates in Georgia taking his count past 1,968 which is the minimum number of delegates required to secure the nomination. The total number of delegates is 2,095.
Speaking post his victory President Biden warned about the Trump threat. According to AP the president said. “I am honoured that the broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic Party across the country have put their faith in me once again to lead our party — and our country — in a moment when the threat Trump poses is greater than ever.”
Biden had also warned about a possible Trump presidency during his State of the Union speech.
Speaking to CNBC Trump spoke about Biden’s possible candidature before it was confirmed. “I assume he’s going to be the candidate,” Trump said of Biden. “I’m his only opponent other than life, life itself.”
The confirmation means that both candidates can now look to focus on the general election campaign. Polls show President Biden’s rating at a low compared to his stance in 2020. A Reuters/Ipsos polls found the president polled at 38% which was much lower than what he polled in 2020. Concerns over the economy have dominated his low ratings along with his age. Biden is 81.
An ABC News/Ipsos survey of 536 U.S. adults, conducted in March found only 29 percent have a favourable view of the former president.
The poll also found that Trump holds a slight edge over Biden with 36% to 33% but 30% of respondents believe that neither of them would do the job adequately.
Despite this anger over the president’s handling of the war in Gaza has cost him support in swing states such as North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. According to Forbes a recent poll of swing state respondents all picked Trump over Biden in a recent poll in February.
