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Table of Contents
45) Donald Trump (R-New York): 2016-2024
2020 Presidential Election
Heading into 2020, Donald Trump first term as President had its highs and its lows. His sweeping tax reform stimulated the already growing economy even further, the Dow Jones rising to 28,000, and his policies on crime and illegal immigration were widely seen as the reason for the 55% decrease in illegal immigration, as well as building the highly touted wall. However, he was criticized for not taking action on healthcare and was also still highly controversial for his use of Twitter. His approval ratings stood at a modest 56% at the time of his re-election.
The race to see who would challenge him was officially on, with many Democrats wanting to be the one to unseat one of the most, in their words, divisive Presidents of all time. A field of 20 different candidates were shown, breaking the record set by the Republican Party just four years prior. These candidates included Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Governors Gina Raimondo (D-RI), Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), and Dannel Malloy (D-CT), among other candidates such as former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.
The Democratic Primary was one of the closest in recent memory, with polls showing Cory Booker leading with 33%, followed closely behind by Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris. However, on June 8, 2020, Elizabeth Warren secured the Democratic nomination, and accepted it at that years Democratic National Convention in Seattle. Warren nominated former Democratic primary competitor Kamala Harris as her Vice Presidential nominee, the first time that two women represented a party's presidential ticket.
Election polls were neck and neck, with some of them giving Warren a slight edge over Trump. On Election Night on November 3, 2020, Trump once again pulled off an upset by defeating Elizabeth Warren by an electoral vote of 320-218. Trump also clinched the popular vote 52% to 48%.
Donald Trump left office on January 20, 2025.
Legacy
Trump's second term was seen as better than his first. Unemployment dropped to 3.6% and the national debt was lowered from 20 trillion to 10 trillion. He was also responsible for the destruction of North Korea's nuclear weapons program and Kim Jong Un's cult of personality without firing a single shot (accomplished through improvement of the THAAD system to shoot down North Korean missiles). His tax cuts are still in effect to this day, which, along with reforming the immigration process that raised legal immigration by 27%, are his biggest remembering factors. He left office with a 70% approval rating, the highest exiting approval ratings since Bill Clinton.
A Siena College survey ranked Trump as the 8th best President of all time, outranking historic Presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama. The poll noted that he was especially strong in the areas of Foreign Policy Accomplishments, Handling of Economy, and Leadership Ability. Many also noted how surprisingly well he was as President, with many Republicans and some Democrats conceding how he expertly lead the country through tough times, such as the crisis with North Korea.
46) Charlie Baker (R-Massachusetts) 2024-2028
2024 Presidential Election
With Trump term-limited, both Republicans and Democrats were clamoring to gather a strong group of people who were willing to succeed the Republican president. The Republicans had lost control of the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections, but had maintained controlled in the House. For the Republican primaries, there were 8 candidates: Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO), Senator Todd Young (R-IN), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Vice President Mike Pence (R-IN), Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA), Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL). The primary was close, ending in a two way race between Vice President Mike Pence and Governor Charlie Baker. While he was seen as a popular Vice President, Pence was seen as too conservative by many moderate members of the party, while Charlie Baker high governor approval ratings at the time helped his moderate Republican views. He received the nomination at the Republican National Convention, and nominated Kentucky Senator Rand Paul as his running mate. This was done in order to appeal to some of the more conservative Republicans who had doubts about Baker. The Democrats had 5 candidates: former Florida Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Congressman Al Green (D-TX), Senator Gina Raimondo (D-RI), Maryland Congressman Martin O'Malley (D-MD), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA). By the time the primaries rolled around, it was a three way battle between Raimondo, Kaine, and O'Malley, with Gina Raimondo decisively defeating O'Malley. She nominated Alabama Senator Doug Jones as her running mate.
Leading up to the general election, it was once again a very close race. Raimondo was seen as the winner of the first debate, but Baker rallied back to win the next two. Meanwhile, Doug Jones was seen as the winner of the vice presidential debate against Rand Paul. Polls in swing states were split, with Florida and North Carolina swinging for Raimondo, while Ohio was swinging for Baker. On election night, Baker was able to beat Raimondo 281-257.
Presidency and Legacy
President Baker oversaw the complete repeal of Obamacare, something President Trump failed to do in his presidency. With it, the American healthcare system became privatized once more. Premiums went down as a result. Baker, however, was criticized by Republicans for his pro-environmental views, including placing the United States back into the 2015 Paris Agreement and his pro-choice views, and criticized by Democrats for slashing taxes for corporations and his relaxed gun control policy. His approval ratings sat at 51% for his re-election. Despite this, he was defeated for re-election by Senator Kamala Harris, becoming the first President to lose re-election since George H.W. Bush.
After leaving office, Baker retired to a private life. As part of the 2030 C-SPAN Presidential Historian Survey, Baker was ranked as the 22nd best President of all time. Many voters were disappointed that he failed to capitalize on many of the policies put in place by his predecessor. This was evident when a 2027 poll said that 22% of the people who voted for him regretted doing so.
47) Kamala Harris (D-California) 2028-2032
2028 Presidential Election
Kamala Harris had run a tough primary for her second attempt at the Presidency. Overcoming 11 other primary competitors, including Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), Congressman John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Senator John Carney (D-DE), and Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ). Barely edging out John Carney, she accepted the nomination at that year's Democratic National Convention, nominating Congressman Roy Cooper (D-NC) as her running mate.
What was considered to be the driving factor in her victory against Charlie Baker was the allegations of abuse of the healthcare system by corporate officials, who embezzled millions of dollars by siphoning money from vulnerable clients. This was brought up in the third and final presidential debate, where Harris relentlessly attacked Baker, who himself had no suitable response. Before this scandal surfaced, Baker was considered the favorite to defeat Harris, but his numbers in the polls dropped significantly following the debate.
On election night, despite the polls signifying a victory for Harris, the contest was unusually close. The election came down to Florida and Michigan, two states that went back and forth all night. FInally, at 2:05 AM, while Michigan was called for Baker, Florida was decisively called for Harris, winning her the election 291-247. This made Kamala Harris the first female President of the United States and second African American president. She also claimed the popular vote 51.8%-47.2%.
