(18 May 2024) The rematch is on. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have agreed to a debate on June 27, 2024. The debate set for Atlanta at 9 pm will be the first of two and occurs unusually early in the presidential campaign, well ahead of the November 5 election. Biden’s choice of an early debate likely reflects his relative weakness as he is trailing in most polls and needs a boost. Some observers have also suggested that the early debate was chosen so that if Biden loses the debate, there will be enough time to replace him before the Democratic convention in August.
An analysis of their respective horoscopes suggests there may not be a clear winner, or at least no decisive “knockout”. For his part, Biden’s handicap is that transiting Mars (19 Aries) will exactly oppose his natal Mars (19 Libra). Mars-Mars oppositions are difficult transits that are marked by conflict and frustration. While some Mars-type conflict is entirely appropriate in a debate against his political archrival, the opposition aspect can mean that his anger may get the best of him or that Trump somehow out-maneuvers him.
More broadly, Saturn will be just two days from stationing retrograde at 25 Aquarius — just one degree from opposing his 10th house cusp (MC) at 26 Leo. If Biden’s birth time is correct — a big if since his birth time is only rated “A”, i.e. from memory — this is a very bad influence as it translates into blocked career paths and diminished status, both of which are represented by the 10th house. But Saturn’s slow speed at the end of June does not necessarily mean Biden will lose the debate as it could negatively influence a much longer time period from mid-June until mid-July. It could therefore refer more generally to setbacks and blocked progress that may not result from the debate. Nonetheless, the close proximity of the Saturn aspect at the time of a very important event is not a welcome development for his political fortunes.
But the outlook isn’t all bad for Biden. The transiting Moon (1 Pisces) will form a very positive 120 degree alignment with his natal Jupiter (exalted at 2 Cancer) and his Sun-Venus conjunction at 4-5 Scorpio. The Moon’s transit activates his wisdom and luck (Jupiter) as well as his leadership (Sun) and public approval (Venus). Whether this Moon transit will be enough to overshadow the negatives of Saturn and Mars is harder to say. His performance may well be “mixed”.
Trump’s chart seems somewhat better. Uranus (1 Taurus) will be exactly conjunct his MC (10th house cusp) and suggests a higher public profile which is more likely to produce positive, if a little unexpected, outcomes. Uranus transits don’t always correlate with positive events but it’s conjunction with the 10th house cusp tilts the odds in Trump’s favor. Uranus usually brings energy, innovation and prominence — all qualities that should be helpful for his campaign. However, like Saturn, Uranus moves quite slowly and so its positive influence may not necessarily be felt on debate night. And yet compared with Biden’s grim Saturn influence, Trump’s Uranus influence is much better for that time period at the end of June.
This favorable Uranian influence will likely get a boost from the 60 degree alignment with the transiting Moon at 1 Pisces. Interestingly, this Moon-Uranus-MC alignment will also activate Trump’s Saturn-Venus conjunction in the 12th house. This conjunction is perhaps not the best alignment to be activated since it is located in the 12th house of loss, but generally speaking, multi-planet alignments are positive regardless of their houses.
But it won’t be clear sailing for Trump either as he will have to contend with a Sun-Neptune square on the night of the debate. Hard Sun-Neptune aspects can represent situations of self-delusion, perhaps as a result of over-confidence. It’s clearly not a positive for Trump on the day of the debate, and yet the strength of the Uranus-10th house/MC conjunction will go a long way to neutralize its negative impact.
Also on the negative side of the ledger, the Saturn station at 25 Aquarius will square Trump’s natal Uranus. This is a less damaging aspect than Biden’s Saturn-MC aspect since Uranus isn’t not a personal planet. Saturn-Uranus transits may create some disruption and possible deterioration of his usual inventive and creative approach to communication. For example, Trump may be forced to uncomfortably straddle conventional conservative thinking with his populist goal of “draining the swamp” in DC. The lack of clarity in his approach to the war in Ukraine is one possible manifestation of this Saturn-Uranus combination. GOP hawks (and the Democrats) want to continue to fund the war against Russia at all costs while his populist MAGA base wants to cut funding foreign wars and boost the domestic economy.
Another angle on this question is the Biden-Trump relationship chart. The Davison relationship chart is cast from the temporal midpoint of the two charts (Sep 1, 1944) and produces a snapshot of their relationship. Moreover, the ups and downs of the relationship can often be seen from any transiting aspects. Here we can see that the stationing Saturn at 25 Aquarius will be almost exactly opposite the natal Mercury (26 Leo). With Mercury governing communication and rational thought, the affliction from Saturn suggests the debate will be a mostly unproductive exchange of ideas between the two. Saturn tends to impede progress and its alignment with Mercury here suggests deep disagreement. But given the level of rancor between the candidates, that is not surprising. Interestingly, Mercury exactly conjoins the MC/10th house cusp on debate night and highlights that communication will be front and center in their relationship on June 27.
Overall, both candidates’ charts are mixed with both favorable and unfavorable alignments on debate night. However, I think Trump’s is better than Biden’s, if only because Biden has to bear the double burden of the Saturn-MC opposition and the Mars-Mars opposition. Biden is therefore more vulnerable to suffering a setback from the debate than Trump, even if Trump’s chart may not be strong enough to deliver a knockout blow.
