President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday secured their parties' presidential nominations with decisive victories in a series of low-profile primaries, setting up
a general election rematch that many voters don't want.
And it hasn't been in the country for decades.
The outcome of the races in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state was never in doubt.
Neither Biden, a Democrat, nor Trump, a Republican, faced significant opposition.
But the magnitude of his victories gave each man the majority of delegates he needed to claim his party's nomination at the summer national conventions.
Not even halfway through the
presidential primary schedule, Tuesday marked a crystallizing moment for
a nation uncomfortable
with its 2024 elections.
A rematch between two imperfect presidents
There is no longer any doubt that the fall elections will include
a rematch between two flawed
and unpopular presidents.
At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in US history, while Trump, 77,
faces decades in prison
as a defendant in four criminal cases.
Biden celebrated the nomination and called Trump a serious threat to democracy.
Photo: AP
Their rematch, the first between two US presidents
since 1912
, is sure to deepen the nation's deep political and cultural divisions during the eight months of fighting ahead.
In a statement, Biden celebrated the nomination and called Trump a
serious threat to democracy.
Trump, Biden said, “is waging a campaign of
resentment, revenge and retaliation
that threatens the very idea of America.”
He continued: “I am honored that the broad coalition of voters who represent 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 – at a time when the threat posed by Trump is growing.
bigger than ever.”
"We have the worst president in the history of our country," Trump said.
Photo: EFE
Trump, in a video posted on social media, celebrated what he called
“a great day of victory.”
"But now we have to get back to work because
we have the worst president in the history of our country
," Trump said of Biden.
“So, we're not going to take the time to celebrate.
We will celebrate it in eight months, when the elections are over.”
Both candidates
dominated Tuesday's primaries in
swing
state Georgia,
Democratic-leaning Mississippi and Washington.
Trump also won the Hawaii Republican caucus.
A difficult path
Despite his harsh words,
the road ahead will not be easy
for any of the presumptive nominees.
The road ahead will not be easy for any of the presumptive nominees.
Photo: Annen Maury and Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Trump
faces 91 felony charges
in four criminal cases related to his handling of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, among other alleged crimes.
He also faces
increasingly pointed questions about his political plans
and his relationships with some of the world's most dangerous dictators.
Trump met privately on Friday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has rolled back democracy in his country.
Biden,
who would turn 86
at the end of his next term, is working to assure a skeptical electorate that
he is still physically and mentally capable of thriving in the world's most important job
.
Voters of both parties are unhappy with his handling of immigration and inflation.
And she is grappling with additional dissension within her party's progressive base, furious that
she has not done more to stop Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza
.
Activists and religious leaders in Washington encouraged Democrats to vote "no compromise" to express their outrage.
In Seattle, Bella Rivera, a 26-year-old voter, said she hoped
her “uncommitted” vote
would serve as a wake-up call for the Democratic Party.
The elections will be between two imperfect and unpopular presidents.
Photo: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds and Joseph Prezioso / AFP
"If they really want our votes, if they want to win these elections
, they will have to show a little more support for Palestinian liberation
- that is something very important to us - and
suspend funding to Israel
," he said.
Rivera, a preschool teacher who uses les pronouns.
Nearly 3,000 miles away in Georgia, retiree Donna Graham said
she would have preferred another Republican candidate to Trump
, but said there was no way she would vote for Biden in the general election.
“He wasn't my first choice, but he's the best choice,” Graham said of Trump.
"
It's sad that it's the same confrontation as four years ago
."
Associated Press writers Hallie Golden in Seattle, Jeff Amy in Loganville, Georgia, Fatima Hussein in Manchester, New Hampshire and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.