Few places can lay a greater claim to be the site of the birth of the United States than Baltimore, the home of Fort McHenry, which survived British bombardment during the War of 1812, and where the American national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner”, was conceived.
And there is perhaps no greater sign of a nation in decline than a 1.6-mile-long bridge collapsing into the sea, as happened to the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore this week, so named after the man who penned the words to the anthem.
American infrastructure is infamously outdated and updating it has been a key part of Joe Biden’s presidency, with Congress approving one the largest federal infrastructure investments in decades in 2021.
But images matter and crises like this can make or break presidents. Donald Trump’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic proved crucial to him losing in 2020 while Bill Clinton’s response to the Oklahoma shootings in 1994 rescued his re-election hopes.
It is no surprise, then, that Biden has pledged that the federal government will cover the bill for the bridge’s reconstruction. The general election campaign has begun.
Indeed, since Super Tuesday Biden has visited eight states in eighteen days and employed the services of Clinton and Barack Obama on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, Trump is reportedly considering bringing back campaign veterans Roger Stone, Kellyanne Conway and Paul Manafort.
Of course, it is Holy Week and Trump, never one to miss a commercial opportunity, has resorted to flogging Bibles to bolster his campaign coffers. This comes in the wake of the $175 million bond to his name as part of a civic fraud case in New York, amongst the many other legal cases he still faces.
Elsewhere, since Super Tuesday there have been more primaries and, though Trump and Biden continue to sail through, there are still worrying signs for both campaigns.
Firstly, there is residual support for Nikki Haley even though she is no longer in the race – she picked up a fifth of the vote in Arizona, a key swing state that Trump narrowly lost in 2020. Meanwhile, although the US has now refused to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, pro-Palestine protests continue to plague the Biden campaign, as happened in New York this week. Things are so bad that a teacher from Texas who has changed his name to “Literally Anybody Else” has entered the presidential race.
Indeed, the fact that the third-party candidate, RFK Jr., has come under increased fire from both Trump and Biden in recent days, is indicative of the threat that “Double Haters” poses to both candidates.
Of course, this week RFK Jr. officially announced his running mate: Nicole Shanahan, the ex-wife of a co-founder of Google. 2024 will surely rank amongst the most exciting “Veepstakes”, something which has acquired greater significance with the passing of former vice-presidential candidate, Joe Lieberman.
Trump, of course, has parted ways with his former “Veep”, Mike Pence, and even flirted with offering the spot to RFK Jr. This week, however, he asked his supporters by email whom he should choose, with contenders including Tim Scott, J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio, Kristin Noem and Elise Stefanik. However, given his unpopularity amongst women and Democrat voters, could it be the former Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard, whom he picks?
If Trump decides for someone else, the “unity ticket” option is being taken up by the third-party group No Labels. The only time such a ticket has proved successful, however, was during the Civil War, when none other than Abraham Lincoln was on it.
It is quite a turnaround for the vice presidency, which the first occupant, John Adams, called “the most insignificant office that ever the Invention of man contrived”.
Today, Veep “shortlists” are forensically analysed by presidential campaigns to ascertain who might “balance the ticket”, like when East Coaster John F. Kennedy picked Southerner Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate to carry the South.
And should something to happen to the president, as infamously did with Kennedy, the vice president fills their shoes. “In this I am nothing,” said Adams, “but I could be everything”. With the oldest presidential candidates in history, the Veepstakes become greater still.
