We’re all against it – right? No, seriously, who asked for this?
Poll after poll after poll made our disappointment with this sequel obvious. News organizations could not stop writing about it. And yet, here we are.
So, what if I told you that we wanted this exact election year all along? That we all were, in fact, wishing these two old white guys would square up for one last dash for power from the generation that has held it for so long. A last gasp from the Silent Generation.
We wanted this. We asked for it. We voted for it.
Republicans have been clinging to Trump for years
Let’s start with Republicans. Don’t look now, my conservative friends, but you’ve handed your party over to Trump for eight years. He wasn’t president for four of those years, no matter what he says. And making him your nominee for 2024 means you want four more.
If you get your way, Republican voters, Trump will have a stranglehold on your party for at least a decade.
That is a long time in political years. So, for all the frustration and angst many of the more moderate Republican leaders have expressed during these last two presidential terms, voters didn’t care. Repeatedly.
The 2024 nomination was settled so quickly in favor of Trump he was free to deal with his legal issues without worrying about debates or fighting off any challengers. Republicans have always wanted Trump. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.
I’m not voting for Trump or Biden. You want my vote? Choose better candidates.
Biden is an incumbent, so he was obviously going to be the guy. But this started in 2020.
By contrast, the Democratic nominee process during the 2020 election was a hard-fought one. Biden didn’t officially get the nomination until June of that year after a series of debates.
Democratic voters had a deep bench to choose from as they decided who would attempt to dethrone Trump, and they took their time to pick. Pete Buttigieg, who has gone on to be a liberal hero, was right there if voters wanted somebody younger but with tremendous upside.
Elizabeth Warren was right there if liberals wanted to try again with an accomplished and tough woman who could hold her own with Trump on any debate stage.
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Let’s not forget about Kamala Harris, who would go on to be the vice president. Democrats had options and chose Biden, who is less progressive and much older than most of his competition.
Liberals went with a 77-year-old Biden in 2020 knowing he would be 81 for his reelection. Don’t let them pretend shock now that he didn’t step aside for a candidate they had the chance to pick years ago.
Unhappy voters may decide 2024 election. Will Biden or Trump win ‘double haters’?
So, where does that leave us?
All of that leaves us with a Republican candidate who is selling Bibles and stock options while battling very real legal problems and continuing to deny an election he lost to a Democratic nominee who, fair or not, cannot raise his approval rating or drop the notion that he’s too old to keep the job.
Yes, that’s a long sentence. It’s been a long few years. You’re going to keep hearing complaints that nobody wanted this election. You might even be one of the ones saying it.
I’m sad to say that we chose this years ago when Donald Trump took that escalator ride from hell and Biden decided to say “Malarkey.”
Good job, American voters. You did it. Stop saying you didn’t.
Louie Villalobos is deputy opinion editor for USA TODAY. You can tag him on social media but he probably won’t see it.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Americans wanted a Trump vs. Biden election. Stop pretending otherwise