Welcome to SCREENSHOT’s very first instalment of our 2024 United States presidential election weekly recaps. We spoke to gen Zers across the US and the UK and asked them about what they feel is missing from how legacy media covers US politics in general and the country’s upcoming election. Their answer? Bite-sized, crystal-clear summaries of the week’s political rollercoaster. So, we’re here to deliver.

Now, of course, in our first iteration, it only makes sense to give you a general overview of the most crucial hot takes and moments that have led up to today. Trust me, you’re going to want to stay around for this one.

To say that the run-up to the 2024 presidential election has been a hot mess would be a serious understatement. First off, the Republicans’ best shot at a nominee has been spending more time in a courtroom than he has on the campaign trail. Trump, babes, I’m looking at you. Moreover, the Democrat incumbent Joe Biden seems to fall over on a daily basis now. If we’re telling it like it is, the future of American democracy is not looking incredibly bright.

We’ve also had a number of nominees drop out of the race including former Vice President Mike Pence, longshot Republican Perry Johnson, and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also switched allegiance from the Democrats, choosing to run as an Independent instead.

In a rather unexpected but unfortunately not entirely surprising development, recent polls show that Trump is currently leading Biden in five out of six swing states. According to The Financial Times, Biden’s economic failures as well as his handling of the current war in Israel and Palestine is resulting in a number of voters siding with none other than the orange fraudster and criminal himself.

While at one time it was predicted that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would be leading the Republican charge, as time goes on, it looks more and more likely that Trump will indeed swipe the Grand Old Party (GOP) nomination.

Although it’s unlikely that he will become the US’ next president, people should also keep their eyes on the first-ever millennial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a man who’s somehow convinced himself that his outward love for Eminem will make him relatable to gen Zers… Okay, hun.

Despite the election being exactly 364 days away, we’ve already seen some incredibly astute covering of the campaign process so far, and indeed predictions of what the US will look like depending on which candidate nabs the win. For example, journalist Chrissy Stroop recently wrote an article about how the death of Twitter will shape the upcoming election. In her analysis, Stroop delves into how there’s a big likelihood that social media and online fake news and misinformation will play an even bigger role in the 2024 election than it did back in 2016. As so many publications have been stating for quite some time now, we have officially entered a “post-truth” era.

There’s also an increasing amount of discourse around how the 2024 election truly reflects the perpetuation of the old boys’ club mentality that still exists in the establishment. Biden is 80 years old, Trump is 77. When will America rid itself of this gerontocracy?

So, what’s next? As of now, there have been two Republican primary debates so far, with a third taking place on 8 November 2023. In contrast, there have not yet been any Democratic primary debates, and some publications have speculated that President Biden may not even attend.

We might still be 364 days away from election day, but there is still a lot to play for. Nothing is a sure thing, and as we’ve seen so many times before, anything—and I mean anything—can happen. So make sure to follow along with the help of our weekly recaps.