The 7 most shocking political stories of 2024

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The year 2024 saw unimaginable headlines that included a dizzying and historic 2024 presidential election and assassination attempts not seen in more than 40 years.

Though the year brought forth unusual media coverage and political attention on Black voters, which was ultimately a great turning point for Black America, it also left Black communities more vulnerable than ever as conservative attacks on so-called “DEI” and racial equity have seen major advances in state houses and courtrooms across the country.

Given how quickly the year flew by, we wouldn’t blame you if you needed a refresher on the biggest moments in politics. Here’s a look back on the most shocking political stories of 2024:

Assassination attempts against Donald Trump

Donald Trump Injured During Shooting At Campaign Rally In Butler, PA

The two assassination attempts on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump were by far the most shocking headlines of 2024. The Republican leader, both despised and revered around the globe, escaped death twice after first being shot at during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 and then again on his Mar-a-Lago estate’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15. The attempts on Trump’s life marked a peak of political violence in recent years and the first major assassination attempt on a current or former president since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981 while exiting the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Trump’s assassination attempt quickly became politicized as Republicans attempted to blame the rhetoric of Democrats for the violent attack, though Trump and conservatives had frequently used violent rhetoric during the 2024 campaign cycle and throughout Trump’s political career. Just days after the shooting, Trump appeared at the Republican National Convention on July 19 in Milwaukee. The presidential nominee wore a large white bandage on his ear, where he was struck during the attack in Butler, and delivered a speech that was initially unifying but quickly divulged into a message of old grievances and attacks on his political opponents.

Trump becomes the first former president to be criminally convicted

Though Donald Trump’s federal criminal indictments are largely dead in the water now that he has been elected president and granted presidential immunity by the U.S. Supreme Court, the now-president-elect made not-so-great history on May 30 when he became the first former president to be criminally convicted. In a case prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged affair they had in 2006.

Not long after the historic conviction, Trump falsely decried the criminal case as an unfair political witch hunt against him by President Joe Biden and his political enemies — despite the case being prosecuted on the state level, not by the federal government, and the evidence of the case leading to a fair process determined by a jury of his peers, as the U.S. Constitution requires. Trump and his legal team even likened his criminal conviction to the plight of Black Americans, suggesting that he can relate to Black citizens who have been treated unfairly by the criminal justice system. The suggestion incensed Black political leaders and advocates.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee dies of cancer

Sheila Jackson Lee, Kamala Harris, theGrio.com

In the midst of a contentious presidential election and partisan infighting on Capitol Hill, Congress lost one of its biggest giants when Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, passed away at 74 on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer. Jackson Lee, who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, earned much respect from her colleagues on both sides of the political aisle while championing issues that mattered most to her, which included making Juneteenth a federal holiday, advancing racial justice and the yet-to-be-realized H.R. 40, which would create a U.S. commission to study slavery and reparations for Black Americans.

In her final months of life, Jackson Lee unsuccessfully ran to be mayor of her hometown, Houston, Texas, and continued her duties as a congresswoman in Washington, D.C. During her funeral service, Jackson Lee was eulogized by Vice President Kamala Harris, who would go on to become the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, a historic first for Black women in politics. Acknowledging Jackson Lee’s contribution to that history, Harris remembered her as a “force of nature.” The vice president added, “Jackson Lee was a change-maker. She worked with all her heart to lift up the people of her city, of her state, and of our nation.”

Biden stumbles in debate against Trump and drops out of 2024 race

Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Debate, theGrio.com

In what will perhaps be remembered as the most disastrous moment during a presidential debate, President Joe Biden’s stumbling performance against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was the beginning of the end of his uphill battle for reelection. On June 27, Biden slurred his words and was, at times, incoherent during his first and only presidential debate in the 2024 election cycle. Many were left bewildered by Biden’s debate performance, though many Black voters were more concerned about Trump’s remarks about “Black jobs.”

Biden’s poor showing led to a flurry of Democrats publicly and privately calling for him to drop out of the election in fear he would lose to Trump, ultimately leading to his decision to no longer seek a second term as president. In an attempt to assert his waning political power and influence, Biden endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his successor for the Democratic Party’s nomination. In a later Oval Office speech, Biden said it was time to “pass the torch” to a new generation of Democrats and vowed, “I revere this office, but I love my country more.”

Kamala Harris emerges as 2024 Democratic presidential nominee

Kamala Harris, DNC, coconut brown suit, Barack Obama, Barack Obama tan suit, theGrio.com

No one could have predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris would ultimately emerge as the Democratic presidential nominee just 107 days before Election Day 2024. After President Biden shockingly and unceremoniously dropped out of the race against Donald Trump, Harris had a historically short timeline to rally enough delegates, raise campaign cash, introduce herself to millions of voters who didn’t know much about her, and, most of all, convince them to vote for her.

Though Harris was ultimately unsuccessful in her attempt to become the nation’s first woman, first Black woman, and first South Asian president of the United States, she made history nonetheless. First, she became the first woman of color to be a party nominee for president — especially bringing pride to Black women. Additionally, with more than 75 million votes, Harris earned the second most votes of any Democratic presidential candidate, the most votes by any woman, and the third-highest vote tally in U.S. history, after Trump in 2024 and Joe Biden in 2020.

Biden pardons son Hunter Biden

President Joe Biden made history on Dec. 1 when he pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for federal convictions related to tax evasion and gun possession, citing a “miscarriage of justice.” By doing so, Biden became the first U.S. president to issue a pardon to his or her child. In an effort to protect his only living son from prison time and promises of further political and legal persecution, Biden granted a rare and sweeping pardon that would shield Hunter Biden from any prosecution over the span of a decade.

The move by Biden was met with swift condemnation from Republicans (and some Democrats) and broke a public vow he made to not use his presidential power to pardon his son. However, some Democrats defended Biden’s decision, citing what they said were partisan attacks on Capitol Hill to use Hunter’s past drug addiction and subsequent legal troubles to malign President Biden. This includes a months-long impeachment inquiry that ultimately led to no evidence President Biden committed any offense. The historic pardon marked the beginning of a wave of pardons and commutations from President Biden, including commuting the sentences of 37 of 40 inmates on federal death row and pardons to those convicted of non-violent crimes, which was praised by criminal justice advocates.

Donald Trump wins second presidential term

In what has been described by some as the most epic political comeback story in U.S. history, Donald Trump won a second nonconsecutive presidential term. Beyond his decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump yet again denied a female candidate the presidency — ultimately a sting to the women’s rights movement and, more specifically, Black women, 92% of whom voted for Harris over Trump.

Trump’s victory marks a turning point for conservative politics and has left Democrats licking their wounds as they continue to reflect on where their party went wrong and how they can emerge victorious again in 2025 and beyond. A second Trump administration also leaves uncertainty for the movement championing racial justice and equity in a political environment where anti-DEI and “reverse racism” sentiments have gained prominence. However, Republican critics previously told theGrio that Trump’s victory was not a result of Democrats leaning too much into “identity politics,” as some have suggested. Instead, they say, Democrats did not do enough to galvanize voters of color, while Trump and Republicans did a more effective job at courting white men.

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