Column: Catch me up — a recap of the school year’s political scene

It is usually a relatively enjoyable experience to see a recap.

We tend to love highlight reels of our favorite sporting events or other's annual Spotify wrapped. 

This recap however, I guarantee, will be slightly less enjoyable.

There’s not much of an introduction that I can offer. There’s no hedging or optimism that I can wrap up neatly in a bow that makes this information any less difficult to consume. But it’s the reality of it all that makes it critical, and dare I say dire, to understand.

The following is a compilation of the major political events that have occurred during the 2023-24 school year.

A former president with a lot of time in court

January began with a defamation trial resulting from Trump’s claims that author E. Jean Carroll faked sexual assault allegations against him for publicity and career success, resulting in an $83.3 million verdict.

In December, the Colorado Supreme Court authorized the removal of Trump’s name from the primary election ballot, citing a violation of the 14th Amendment in that he contributed to an insurrection and was thus ineligible for office. On March 4, the United States Supreme Court overturned this decision. 

Trump is currently in New York, on trial following accusations of hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels. Clifford alleges that she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 and subsequently received $130,000 in hush-money payments prior to the 2016 general election, effectively preventing a sex scandal.

Most recently, the SCOTUS is deliberating his claim of presidential immunity, in which Trump argued that he could not be prosecuted for official actions he took while in office. 

Anyone who contends for immunity above the law is a threat to our democracy. The abrasiveness with which he approaches the court is indicative of a moral and logical failing. Additionally, I am horrified at the prejudice and bias that the current court demonstrates in their decisions. The point of lifelong appointments is to avoid the pitfalls that we are currently trapped in — clearly biased justices who cannot put aside their own reactionism. 

State of warfare and humanitarian crisis in Gaza 

On Oct. 7, 2023, political group and U.S.-defined terrorist organization Hamas escalated decades of continued hostility in southern Israel when they launched a surprise attack on Israeli civilians, resulting in around 1,200 casualties. The Israeli government immediately declared a state of war, insisting that they would not relent until Hamas was eradicated entirely. The subsequent bombings of the Gaza Strip in the following months have led to the deaths of over 33,000 Palestinian civilians and the displacement of over 85 percent of the total population of Gaza.

Most recently, pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have erupted nationwide in response to continued investment and profit off of prolonged military conflict in Gaza. Columbia University continues to receive nationwide attention for their multi-day Gaza solidarity encampment, which has led dozens of universities, including UNC, to follow suit.

From anti-McCarthyism to desegregation to opposition of the Vietnam War, student movements have most often been on the right side of history. I respect and support the thousands of students nationwide putting their education on the line to demand more from their institutions. We are owed transparency regarding our universities’ investments. Apartheid is reprehensible; occupation is thievery. Students have the right to push back.

A battle for House speakership

October saw the first successful ousting of a House Speaker in American history, when Congressman Matt Gaetz  filed a motion to vacate against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Displeased by a McCarthy-approved resolution that delayed a government shutdown and made concessions across the aisle, the ultraconservative wing of the House voted to remove him from his position.

After a three-week vacancy, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, a relatively unknown conservative, replaced him. In order to pass a recent bill that approved $60 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Johnson sidestepped the same ultraconservative wing of the House that ousted McCarthy. Since, three Republican members of the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA 14th), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ 9th), and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY 4th) have signed onto a motion to remove Johnson from his current role.

I have grave concerns about the ultraconservative wing of the House — their actions threaten the functions of a working government that is struggling enough as is to seek bipartisanship. When members of the federal legislative branch threaten to fire their colleagues for rare communication with those across the aisle, that is when you know that radicalism has gone too far.

In fact, I commend McCarthy and Johnson for their rare bipartisan moments, ones that did objective good for the world. It is times like these when we must remember that our votes put officials like Taylor Greene and Gaetz in office. I urge us to unseat them — their civic duty to cooperate has become nonexistent.

The race to the general election

2023 saw the battle for presidential nominations, with both familiar names and first-timers. The results suggest a not-so-surprising split between moderate conservatives and reactionary Trump supporters. Across the country, debates and campaigns were held for front-runner Donald Trump and his contenders. His moderate competitor Nikki Haley was the last to suspend her campaign, waiting until March, clearing the path for Trump to receive the nomination.

The Democratic side saw an uncharacteristically high number of protest votes, with many progressives voting “uncommitted” on their primary ballot as a means of expressing disapproval at Biden’s current administration — especially his continued support for Israel and their military. Regardless, Biden clinched the nomination.

It becomes more apparent in every electoral year that the two-party system is broken beyond repair.

I am disappointed with Republican voters in mass who have continually refused to put another name on the ballot. I see and hear the complaints and grief of those who feel that the Biden administration has failed us, and I agree. But, it would be nothing but foolish to pretend that the current administration is worse than another Trump term. I urge us to have the foresight to consider the consequences of our actions: the genocide will not cease under Trump’s administration, but millions of others countrywide will suffer as well. 

@madelyn_rowley

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com