- [Narrator] The expected rematch between President Biden
and former President Donald Trump is happening.
- We're effectively in a general election now
that's just unprecedented in a lot of ways.
There're just so many unknowns.
- [Narrator] While Biden faces obstacles,
like concerns about his age
and declining approval ratings, Trump is juggling a set
of challenges that no presidential candidates
have ever confronted.
Here's a look at those challenges
and how Trump will try to turn them into opportunities.
The 2024 election is gearing up to be a face-off
between the oldest nominees in history,
and it's going to be the first presidential rematch
in the US since 1956
when President Dwight Eisenhower faced
and defeated Adlai Stevenson for the second time.
- [Reporter] The result was never in doubt.
It was a landslide for the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket.
- We know from polling
and just, you know, talking to voters around the country
that people are really kind of weary about the notion
of a Trump-Biden matchup but that's what we're gonna have.
It's gonna be all consuming I think for the American public.
- [Narrator] The race is now an endurance challenge
for both candidates
after Trump easily beat out his Republican rivals,
including Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley.
- Donald Trump's strength really shows how much
of a hold he has on the party's base, the core voters.
They are willing to swing
with his different positions on issues
that aren't always aligned with a certain feeling
that's been long baked into the Republican party.
- [Supporters] Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump, Trump.
- He didn't dabble much or tangle much with his rivals.
Trump never got on the debate stage with his rivals.
He felt he didn't have to.
Why should he?
We don't know his positions, for example,
on some of the key foreign policy matters,
like the war in the Middle East.
So it's sort of kept him out of the scrutiny
of, you know, political discourse.
So it worked out well for him.
- [Narrator] Trump's 2024 started off pretty busy,
from campaign events to court hearings.
- I'm gonna have to sit here for months on a trial.
- [Narrator] And sometimes those two things lined up
on back-to-back days in very different locations.
On February 14th, Trump spoke at a campaign rally
in North Charleston, South Carolina.
- Well, thank you very much, South Carolina
and happy Valentine's Day, everybody.
- [Narrator] The next day he was in New York
for a hearing over his alleged role in a scheme
to pay hush money to a porn star.
- I'll be here during the day
and I'll be campaigning during the night.
- Trump has tried, and has had some success so far,
marrying the two.
Essentially, the campaign and the courtroom are the same.
We've seen him when he goes to court, often speaking
to reporters, making sure his voice is heard.
- It's election interference at the highest level.
It's a disgrace.
- And kind of plowing head with his message
that this is all designed to stop him politically.
- I stand before you today,
not only as your past and hopefully future president,
but as a proud political dissident.
- That is gonna be more difficult, of course,
as these cases really take hold.
That's gonna start to really eat into his ability
to be out there on the campaign trail.
- [Narrator] The legal trials
have also drained his political coffers.
In 2023, Trump's campaign spent roughly $50 million
on legal fees
and between two New York civil lawsuits plus interest,
the former president was ordered
to shell out more than half a billion dollars
in financial penalties.
- The spending for Trump on legal fees
is a real open question,
whether he can sustain the amount of money
that he is devoting towards these cases, his lawyers
and defending himself.
He does have the ability to raise a lot of money.
Every time he's going to court,
every time he leaves court, they fire off a campaign email
asking for more money, saying that it's not just himself
that's being persecuted, but his supporters.
He's very good at personalizing what he's undergoing
with his own supporters ,
and a lot of people feel that way,
and they give more money.
- [Narrator] While Trump has performed well
in the GOP primaries,
some warning signs indicate that voter enthusiasm
for his return to the White House appears to be waning.
In early state elections in Iowa and New Hampshire,
nearly half of primary voters didn't vote for Trump.
And when asked how they would feel if he became the nominee,
many of the non-Trump voters in New Hampshire
said they'd be so dissatisfied
that they wouldn't vote for him in the general election.
- Trump can't afford to lose too many Republican voters.
He's trying to pull voters back into his fold,
and new voters by promising effectively a return
to relative economic prosperity
that marked his first term until COVID.
The downside is that the economy is improving in a lot
of ways for Joe Biden.
We're gonna see a lot of battles
over who can sustain this growth that we're seeing.
- [Narrator] Biden, as the sitting president
whose approval ratings continue to drop,
has his own challenges ahead.
One of Biden's most striking vulnerabilities
has come under intense scrutiny
after a special counsel report investigating his mishandling
of classified documents made several strong claims
about his memory.
- Something the special counsel said in his report
is that one of the reasons you were not charged
is because, in his description,
"You are a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory."
- I'm well-meaning, and I'm an elderly man
and I know what the hell I'm doing.
I've been president and I put this country back on his feet.
- Age and mental acuity is one
of the big issues facing Joe Biden
and his attempts to win a second term.
We see it poll after poll that Americans, Democrats,
Republicans, independents think he's too old.
It's why we've seen such an aggressive attempt
by the White House and Democrats
to sort of frame it in different ways.
- I'm absolutely confident based on his incredible record
of success for the country that he is the right person
to lead the country for another four years.
- [Narrator] Age isn't the only concern.
More than half of the country thinks Biden's policies
during his presidency have hurt more than they've helped.
The face-off between Trump and Biden will test the stamina
of both candidates and the voters.
Polling has shown that a majority
of Americans think neither Biden
nor Trump should run for president again in 2024.
- It's gonna be a long, long slog, one that a lot
of Americans just don't want to happen, but it's happening.
It's gonna be an unprecedented wild ride to the finish here
and we're all gonna be part of it
whether you want to or not.
(pensive music)