US Elections 2024 Highlights: Biden, Trump Secure Party Nominations For 2024 Presidential Rematch

The parties' presidential nominations were clinched on Tuesday by US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump with decisive victories in a slate of low-profile primaries, setting up a general election rematch that many voters do not want.

The outcome of contests across Georgia, Mississippi, and Washington state was never in doubt.

Biden, Trump Secure Party Nominations

Major opposition was not faced by either Biden, a Democrat, or Trump, a Republican. However, the magnitude of their wins gave each man the delegate majority needed to claim his party's nomination at the national conventions this summer. Not even halfway through the presidential primary calendar, Tuesday marked a crystallizing moment for a nation uneasy with its choices in 2024.

There is no longer any doubt that the fall election will feature a rematch between two flawed and unpopular presidents. At 81, Biden is already the oldest president in US history, while the 77-year-old Trump is facing decades in prison as a defendant in four criminal cases, as reported by India Today citing AP.

Their re-match, the first featuring two US presidents since 1912, will almost certainly deepen the nation's searing political and cultural divides over the eight-month grind that lies ahead. A statement celebrating the nomination was made by Biden while casting Trump as a serious threat to democracy.

Trump, Biden said, "is running a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America". He continued, "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."

On the eve of Tuesday's primaries, Trump acknowledged that Biden would be the Democratic nominee, even as he seized on the President's age. "I assume he's going to be the candidate," Trump said of Biden on CNBC. "I'm his only opponent other than life, life itself," as per AP reports.

Both candidates dominated Tuesday's primaries in swing-state Georgia, deep-red Mississippi, and Democratic-leaning Washington. Voting was taking place later in Hawaii's Republican caucus. Despite their tough talk, the road ahead will not be easy for either presumptive nominee.

Trump is facing 91 felony counts in four criminal cases involving his handling of classified documents and his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, amongst other alleged crimes. He's also facing increasingly pointed questions about his policy plans and relationships with some of the world's most dangerous dictators, reported AP.

On March 8, Trump privately met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has rolled back democracy in his country.