The last three months have seen the conviction of former president Donald Trump on felony charges, a disastrous performance by President Joe Biden in a presidential debate, which ultimately led to his withdrawal from the presidential race, and the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally. Jeanne Sheehan Zaino catalogues these and nearly two dozen other “firsts” of the 2024 presidential election campaign and reminds us that there are still three months until Election Day. 

“Holy s—,” is how on July 22^nd Pod Save America’s’ Jon Favreau described the previous 52 days of the US presidential election. Others have described it as ‘unprecedented,’ ‘historic,’ ‘unparalleled,’ ‘unmatched,’ ‘extraordinary,’ ‘freakish,’ ‘wild,’ ‘must see TV,’ and ‘not normal.’

To say the least, this is an election of ‘firsts’ that has commentators scrambling for the most apt descriptor is an understatement. I have settled on a combination of surprise and dismay – and I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t expressed a bit of both in response to this election.

For those who suspect the norm-shattering nature of the current political moment is being overplayed by the media, I have put together a brief, albeit incomplete, list of what all the hype is about; what has made this campaign so astonishing, even for seasoned observers. In this election, we have witnessed a multiplicity of firsts (or at least firsts in the modern era), including:

1. A twice impeached former president, who refused to accept the results of the last election, announces his intention to seek his party’s nomination: In November 2022, Donald Trump declared he was running for president for a third time (in keeping with the ‘firsts’ theme, Trump is also the first President in American history to be impeached twice – he was acquitted both times).
2. A former president seeks his party’s nomination and leads in most polls, despite being accused of inciting an insurrection to stop the certification of electoral ballots in Congress: Trump is facing a four-count federal indictment for his actions related to his actions on January 6th.
3. The two oldest candidates in history seek their parties’ nomination: If he had stayed in the presidential race and been re-elected, Joe Biden would have been 82 years old on Inauguration Day 2025, while Trump would be 78 and, if he wins, 82 by the next election in 2028.
4. A current and former president secures the delegates needed to clinch their respective parties’ nominations despite being among the least liked candidates in history: Biden and Trump became their parties’ presumptive nominees in mid-March.
5. A battle of the incumbents. Up until Biden dropping out, this was the first time in more than a century that two presidents had run against each other for a second time. The last time was in 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt ran against William Howard Taft: Trump is the 45th US President and Biden the 46th.
6. The nominee of a major party and former president faces criminal trial for illegally influencing the outcome of a previous election: In May, Trump stood accused in a criminal court in lower Manhattan of 34-counts for his role in falsifying business records to cover up an affair in advance of the 2016 election.
7. The nominee of a major party and former US President, is found guilty by a jury of his peers: On May 30^th a jury of 12 men and women in lower Manhattan found Trump guilty on all 34-counts mentioned above
8. The nominee of a major party faces felony criminal charges in not just one, but multiple jurisdictions: Trump faced 91 criminal counts in four jurisdictions. In mid-July 2024, a federal judge in Florida dismissed the 40-count indictment in the ‘federal documents’ case; with this decision and the conviction in New York, he currently still faces 14 counts.
9. After being charged in Georgia on 13 counts, the presumptive Republican nominee is forced to surrender to officials: In August 2023, Trump voluntarily surrendered to authorities in Fulton County and among other things, had his mug shot taken which quickly went viral and found its way onto t-shirts and other campaign marketing paraphernalia. 
10.  The presumptive nominee of a party, that is a convicted felon, sees his poll numbers and donations increase post-conviction: In the days after the May 30^th verdict, Trump raised more than US$141 million and his poll numbers increased, giving him an edge over Biden.
11.  The presumptive nominee of a party is scheduled to be sentenced four days before his party’s convention: The judge presiding over the Manhattan case scheduled Trump to be sentenced on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention [RNC] in Milwaukee was slated to begin.
12.  The US Supreme Court rules that former presidents have ‘absolute immunity’ from criminal prosecution: In a decision that shocked many legal analysts, in a 6-3 decision in early July the Supreme Court ruling supporting Trump’s argument regarding immunity further complicates efforts to prosecute the former president and raises questions about whether the remaining cases, that he is facing, will go forward.
13.  As a result of the Supreme Court’s ruling, the former president’s sentencing is postponed: Following the Court’s ruling, the judge overseeing Trump’s Manhattan conviction postponed sentencing until September 18^th, weeks prior to Election Day.
14.  The sitting president challenges his opponent to the earliest debate in history and one in which the rules, at least on paper, appear to favor him: In May, Biden stunned audiences by opting out of the Presidential Commission debates and challenging Trump to debate him in Atlanta on CNN in late June. With no audience in attendance, the rules seemed to favor Biden, despite this, Trump accepted the challenge.
15.  The president gives what is regarded by many as worst debate performance in the history of televised debates: Even Biden’s most ardent supporters agreed his debate performance was disastrous.
16.  In the weeks following the debate, Democrats express concern about the president’s inability to prosecute the case against his opponent and he is subjected to numerous calls to step out of the race: Following the debate, the president was publicly and privately urged to withdraw from the race from Democratic leaders, big money donors, and the like; one of the most read op-eds, to this end, came from a longtime supporter – actor George Clooney with the headline: “I love Joe Biden. But We Need a New Nominee.”
17.  For three weeks, the presumptive Democratic nominee resists the calls coming from inside his own party: In the days after the debate, Biden mounted a public relations campaign designed to resurrect his campaign, beginning with a much watched sit down interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. This, along with other interviews and speeches, did little to change the narrative and calls for him to withdraw gained momentum.
18.  The Republican Party’s presumptive nominee is the victim of an attempted assassination: While speaking at a rally in rural Pennsylvania, days before his party’s convention, Trump was the victim of an attempted assassination; the gunman – who was shot and killed – is later identified as a 20-year old man whose motive still is unclear.
19.  The presumptive Republican nominee is hit by the bullet but survives the attempted assassination: Despite being grazed by a bullet in his right ear and with blood flowing, Trump maintains presence of mind to stand, lift his fist in the air and shout ‘Fight, Fight, Fight.’ The moment caught by photographers quickly becomes an iconic image of defiance and strength.
20.  In the wake of his opponent’s attempted assassination, the president calls for unity, peace, and an investigation: Biden was at church when the assassination attempt occurred in Pennsylvania, he returned to Washington D.C., shortly thereafter and delivered an Oval Office address (the third of his presidency) in which he said “there is no place in America for this kind of violence, for any violence ever.” 
21.  The presumptive Republican nominee, head bandaged, arrives at his party’s convention just after the shooting: Trump arrived in Milwaukee just one day after being shot, with a fashionably ear, speaking openly about how he only survived with the help of God and as a result, was rewriting his speech.
22.  The president and presumptive Democratic nominee is diagnosed with COVID-19: On a west coast campaign swing, the second to the last day of the Republican National Convention and in the midst of mounting calls to withdraw from the campaign, Biden is diagnosed with the disease and heads home to Rehoboth Beach in his home state of Delaware to isolate and recover.
23.  The Republican nominee leaves his party’s convention in a strong position: After accepting his party’s nomination for the third time, Trump left Milwaukee with stronger poll-and fundraising numbers than he had previously in either 2016 or 2020.
24.  The sitting president and presumptive nominee of the Democratic party withdraws from the race: After intense pressure, on Sunday afternoon, July 21st, Biden stuns many by posting a letter on social media site ‘X,’ announcing he is withdrawing from the race. His withdrawal means 2024 is the first time ever since 1976 – 11 election cycles – that there is not a Biden, Bush or Clinton on the presidential ballot.
25.  The sitting president and former presumptive Democratic nominee endorses his Vice President: Minutes after announcing his intention to withdraw, Biden endorsed his Vice President and running-mate, Kamala Harris.
26.  Within hours of the president’s withdrawal, the Vice President clinches the Democratic party’s nomination: Despite talk of an open or contested Democratic Convention, within two days of Biden’s announcement to withdraw, Harris has secured enough delegates to get the nomination and stuns the world by breaking fundraising records.

Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash

All of this, and August is only just beginning. As a reminder, we are still more than three months away from Election Day – after which Electors will gather in their states’ capitols to cast their ballots for onward submission to Congress for, what one can hope, is a safe and uncontested ceremony early next year. If the election so far has taught us anything, however, three months (or six if you include Congress’ certification of the electoral vote) is a lifetime in politics and given the trajectory of this race so far, much can still happen.

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