Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are fighting it out for the most powerful job in the world, with both of them confident of beating the other as millions of US citizens vote in the 2024 election taking place on Tuesday (5 November).
The reality of the situation is that it is a complete toss-up, with the polls too close to confidently say whether the Democrats or Republicans will definitely triumph.
Regardless of who wins out of the current vice president and former POTUS, one thing is for certain; they will not sit behind the desk of the Oval Office on Wednesday.
Voters in the USA will take to the polls on Tuesday to either usher Donald Trump back in to the White House or move Kamala Harris from her current vice presidential quarters in to the Oval Office.
Millions of votes have been cast early this time around, with recounts also a possibility due to how close the result could be.
There could also be legal challenges, especially if Trump loses, given that he still maintains the 2020 presidential election was ‘rigged’ and ‘fraudulent’.
In 2020, which was an incredibly close election, people voted on 3 November, with the result officially declared by US television broadcasters on 7 November, so we could see a similar timeframe again if none of the above hurdles are encountered.
And on the flip side, Obama and Trump’s victories in 2012 and 2016 were known within hours.
A lot will depend on exit polling and how accurate a picture it can portray.
Donald Trump wants to be the new POTUS (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
What happens after they’ve been announced as president?
Once the result looks confirmed, the new president will address their campaign teams and a live audience in a televised announcement.
But the work will continue in the background.
All US states must verify their results by 11 December under the Electoral Count Act. In the window up until this date, any issues or controversies can be filed – such as contesting a result, as Trump did in 2020 – before results are rubber-stamped.
On 17 December, electors from each state will meet to formally put forward their local results for president and vice president.
The vote will be incredibly close (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
So, when do they become president?
Once the votes are ratified and sent to Washington, home of the USA’s political powerhouse, movement will start to bring in the new president.
This takes place after the US Congress meets to count the electoral votes on 6 January, overseen by the current vice president, which itself might be controversial to some voters, due to that person currently being Harris herself.
It was during this meeting in 2021 that the US Capitol building – where Congress sits – was stormed by people who didn’t agree with the result showing a Biden win.
Then, on 20 January, it will be Inauguration Day, where Joe Biden will officially hand over power to either Trump or Harris, who will take the presidential oath of office alongside the same oath for the new vice president
So much is at stake, both domestically and internationally, and the Democratic and Republican candidates vary significantly in their policies and takes on voting issues close to the electorate’s heart.
Harris will be hoping she has done enough in the swing states to pip Trump to the magical 270 electoral votes, while Trump has said it is now or never if he is to return to Washington, as the former reality TV star saying he likely won’t be standing again.
And while the tag lines, rhetoric, and social media play a huge part in deciding the minds of many, those unsure can check out what each candidate is offering below.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on economic policy
Harris says she is going to prioritise bringing down the food bills for Americans, which she will do with a ban on inflating prices on groceries due to a lack of competition.
She also said she will reduce the costs associated with running a house, such as helping first-time buyers and raising the minimum wage.
On taxation, Harris said she will up tax rates on big businesses as well as high earners earning $400,000 a year. That, coincidentally, includes the president themselves. She also wants to increase capital gains tax.
She’s also said she will expand child tax credits to help families struggling to survive.
Meanwhile, Trump says he will ‘end inflation’ and make ‘America affordable again’, hinting that extracting more oil will help on this front.
The former president said he will also bring about lower interest rates, despite the POTUS not setting them or controlling them.
Trump says he will up taxes on imports while cutting taxes worth trillions of dollars, all while deporting undocumented immigrants.
Justifying the tax cuts, he said it will be paid for through growth and the import tax.
Kamala Harris wants to be the next POTUS (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s on women’s rights
Harris has put abortion rights at the heart of her campaign, saying it is a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body.
She says she’ll legislate to put these reproductive rights in to US law.
Trump has flip-flopped on this matter, having previously appointed the US Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the historic Roe v Wade judgement that resulted in 20 states bringing in strict abortion laws.
While he’s previously described these restrictions as a ‘beautiful thing to watch’, during this election campaign, the former president said he will not push for a national abortion ban.
He has also pushed for free IVF for women.
Trump is looking to return to the Oval Office for a final term as POTUS (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on foreign policy
Harris has committed to a co-operative international approach ,while also stressing the USA’s allegiance to NATO. She would continue the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine and call for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
Trump said he would look at the USA’s approach to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia while also stressing he will end the conflict, but without saying how he would do this.
On the Middle East, Trump has been critical of Israel’s tactics in the ongoing conflicts with the likes of Gaza and Iran.
In the USA, Trump has supported an aggressive reply to those protesting in favour of Palestine, such as stripping foreign students of their visas.
Trump and Harris have only taken part in one presidential debate (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on immigration policy
As vice president, Harris oversaw the issue of the USA’s border with Mexico. Crossings into the States spiked towards the end of last year, before settling at a four-year low heading in to the election.
She says she will take a tough stance on human traffickers exploiting people crossing the border, as well as increase presidential power when it comes to border control.
Trump said he will complete building the wall on the Mexico border that he first mentioned during his 2016 campaign, while also carrying out the largest domestic deportation scheme in the history of the country.
His so-called ‘Muslim travel ban’ would also be reintroduced, banning people from numerous predominantly-Muslim countries from entering the USA.
The time to vote is now (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on the environment
Harris has thrown her support behind a fracking ban and championing electric vehicles. But under the Biden government, she has also been involved in record-high US oil and gas production.
The Biden-Harris administration did sign the Inflation Reduction Act, which promised investments in renewable energy sources to move away from fossil fuels.
Trump, who has previously described climate change as an ‘expensive hoax’, has committed to clean air and water for US citizens.
At the same time, he says he will repeal the Biden administration’s laws enhancing environmental regulations.
He is also a fierce opponent to wind power.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on gun policy
Harris and her vice-president nominee, Tim Walz, both said they are gun owners, while also calling for tighter gun control to stop violence associated with the weapons, such as school shootings.
Harris is in favour of expanding background checks before people can get a gun, as well as also banning assault rifles.
Trump hasn’t put forward any policies to tinker with gun laws, instead embracing them as they are.
The Republican candidate was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, when the incident occurred, as he was wrapping up his country-wide rallies and closing arguments to become the President for a second term after serving in office from 2017-2021.
Trump was at the stand, attempting to address the crowd, and realised that there was a problem with the microphone stand before starting to complain about it.
Trump did something weird with the microphone stand on Friday night (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
While going through the technical difficulties, the 78-year-old started to say: “I came in today, I said, and, you know, this is after four of these things I’ve been in all fairness. I mean, I’m a human being, right? I come in, and here’s the problem…”
He then went on to say that the microphone stand wasn’t tall enough for him, exclaiming that it was ‘way too low’.
But in the midst of complaining, a viral moment of his frustration did the rounds on X, when the American did something X-rated with the microphone.
Ana Navarro, known on her work on CNN, pointed out in a post on X: “Yes. You saw right. This is Trump on stage at a rally, pretending to perform a sex-act on a microphone.
“This is not normal. Trump is disgusting, unhinged and unfit to represent the United States. Vote him out.”
He could be seen holding the mic in one hand while stroking the stand with the other hand and pretending to put his mouth on it.
Previously in the rally, Trump had ripped the microphone from the podium to hold it nearer to his mouth, and said: “I think this mic stinks.
“And then we don’t pay the contractor. I say don’t pay the contractor then they write a story, Trump doesn’t pay his bills, he’s a bad guy.”
The Presidential candidate got up close and personal with the stand (X/mattison)
But it didn’t stop there, as the 45th President of the United States said in annoyance: “You’ve gotta be kidding. Do you want to see me knock the hell out of people backstage?”
“I don’t mind if they want to come up a little forward or something but it’s a pretty stupid situation, but that’s okay,” he said about the technical issues, as the crowd cheered.
Trump kept going: “I get so angry, I’m up here seething. I’m seething, I’m working my ass off with this stupid mic.
“I’m blowing out my left arm. Now I’m going to blow out my right arm, and I’m blowing out my damn throat too, because of these stupid people.”
Who knew a microphone could cause so much grief?
But regardless of who wins out of the controversial Republican candidate and his opponent, Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris, the 47th President of the United States will be handed something called the ‘nuclear football’. And to make the terminology that little bit stranger, being given that gives an incoming president something known as the ‘biscuit’.
While it might feel like a fever dream of words, the reality to them is a lot more sinister, serious, and very real.
More than 150 million votes are set to be cast in the 2024 presidential election, which is being held on Tuesday, 5 November.
With Trump looking to get back in to the Oval Office after losing out to incumbent President Joe Biden, it is Biden’s VP up against him as Harris looks to make the step up and take over from her current boss.
No one can call the election, with polls sitting slap bang in the middle of the margin of error. So it’s anybody’s game, with the world watching on and holding its breath.
Whether we have a President Harris or Trump after all is said and done, one thing that the Biden administration will hand over is the ‘nuclear football’.
It’s nothing to do with the NFL, though, with it a million miles away from the gridiron or Super Bowl Sunday. Instead, it is a very real black briefcase containing incredibly powerful items should a president want to conduct a nuclear strike.
Donald Trump is looking to become the US President once again (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
‘Nuclear football’ and the ‘biscuit’
When in the White House, the nuclear football is put to one side given the very real operation centre that exists within it when it comes to launching a nuclear strike.
But outside of these fixed command centres, the POTUS must, at all times, travel with a mobile command-and-control system.
Inside the nuclear football is the Presidential Emergency Satchel; a number of codes that the president would have to read allowed to confirm their identity to military personnel in the Pentagon.
The nuclear football also has a list of optional plans for pre-emptive or retaliatory nuclear strikes; a list of sites where the president could safely stay during a nuclear conflict; and a description of procedures for using the country’s Emergency Alert System.
Also included is a plastic card known as the ‘biscuit’. This is a series a Gold Codes the POTUS must consult to launch a nuclear strike. These codes differ to the codes to launch anything from the nuclear arsenal.
Using the biscuit, the president would have to read them allowed to confirm their identity to military personnel in the National Military Command Center.
Kamala Harris already possesses the nuclear football as the incumbent US Vice President (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Launching a nuke
The actual process needed to launch a nuclear weapon is a lot more thought out than you might think.
Before the nuclear football is activated, the POTUS must launch a conference with military and civilian advisers to making sure such an act would not violate international law, meaning the president has to jump through hoops regardless of who sits in the Oval Office.
All in all, there are three nuclear footballs. One is carried by the POTUS and another by the vice president, who would assume command if the president were to die or no longer be of sound mind.
A military aide carries the ‘nuclear football’, which contains launch codes for nuclear weapons (Andrew Leyden / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The third nuclear football is in the White House at all times.
