Biden and Trump offer worlds-apart contrasts on issues in 2024’s rare contest between two presidents

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump are two presidents with unfinished business and an itch to get it done.

Their track records and plans on abortion, immigration, taxes, wars abroad — you name it — leave no doubt that the man voters choose in November will seek to shape the landscape of American life in ways wholly distinct from the other.

The recent assassination attempt against Trump left Biden and his opponent both urging national unity in a rare moment of overlap. But it’s unclear how long that will last: Biden has largely built his reelection campaign around criticizing Trump as a menace to democracy and the nation’s founding principles; the former president has long been a sharp Biden critic who relishes bombast and is known for holding political grudges.

On nearly every issue, the choices — if the winner gets his way — are sharply defined.

The onward march of regulation and incentives to restrain climate change, or a slow walk if not an about-face. Higher taxes on the super rich, or not. Abortion rights reaffirmed, or left to states to restrict or allow as each decides. Another attempt to legislate border security and orderly entry into the country, or massive deportations. A commitment to stand with Ukraine or let go.

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