what americans want

Opinion By Ben Everidge for Thomas

What neither trump nor biden delivered …

You can feel it in diners and boardrooms, on school boards and in church pews, from Miami to Milwaukee to Modesto. You know the forefathers and mothers of this great land would be thinking about it, too. The nation isn’t just divided. It’s exhausted. And not just by each other, but by the failure of our last two presidents to meet the real needs of the American people. 

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have become the twin anchors dragging the national boat in opposite directions, each promising greatness or restoration, each delivering only partial victories wrapped in polarization. Their terms in office have been more about who they opposed than what they solved.

And here's the truth: Many in Washington still can’t say out loud: Neither of them gave the American people what they truly wanted.

So, what does the country want?

1. Stability and Sanity in Government

Americans want leaders who aren't obsessed with retribution, revenge, or legacy-polishing. They want order, not chaos: function, not drama. We need a president who governs to serve, not to settle scores or secure a chapter in a future biography.

Neither Trump’s vengeance tour nor Biden’s bureaucratic fog provided that.

2. An Economy That Works for Working People

Inflation didn’t start with Biden, but it accelerated on his watch. Trump gave tax breaks that favored the top. Biden spent big but with little clarity on long-term return. Meanwhile, wages stagnated, home insurance skyrocketed, and small business owners still fear they’ll never outrun the next recession.

The country isn’t asking for socialism or trickle-down fantasy. We want a fair shot. A job that pays enough to own a home, raise a family, and retire with dignity. And not in theory - in reality.

3. Real Border Solutions, Not Cruelty or Chaos

We’ve seen both extremes: children in cages under Trump, and chaotic, unvetted surges under Biden. Neither administration treated immigration as the national opportunity it is, striking a balance between order, compassion, and economic pragmatism.

Americans want a modern Ellis Island: strong borders and legal paths to citizenship. Neither side has delivered.

4. Respect for Our Institutions

We used to believe in the rule of law. In checks and balances. That no one, president or protester, was above the law.

Today? Faith in Congress is at 13%. Trust in the courts is unraveling. And both Trump and Biden, each in their way, pushed constitutional limits with executive orders, court-packing, or politicized appointments.

It’s time to restore integrity, not just win elections.

5. National Unity Around Shared Purpose

Here’s the uncomfortable reality: neither MAGA nor the progressive echo chamber speaks for the exhausted majority in the middle. Americans want to belong to something again, something bigger than party or tribe. They seek a national identity founded on mutual responsibility and shared opportunities.

Instead, we got hashtags. Investigations. Shutdowns. Culture wars.

So, What Now?

In 2028, we don't just need a new president. We need a new approach to the presidency.

Not a performer. Not a professor. Not a prosecutor.

A public servant with a mission to reconnect the country with itself.

Independent-minded voters, now a majority in some states, are the key to that future. The question is: will we unite behind a new candidate with the courage to break the binary?

The country is not asking for perfection. But it is loudly asking for change.

Not a cosmetic change. Not party-switching.

Real leadership. Real reform. Real results.

It’s time to stop settling for the lesser of two letdowns.