US Presidential Election Becomes More Chaotic After Biden’s Decision
U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and Kamala Harris (R), 2024. (C). Photo: X/ @AyannaPressley
July 22, 2024 Hour: 11:57 am
Only two Democratic presidents, Truman and Johnson, decided not to run again during an election year in the last 75 years.
Under mounting pressure from within his party, Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
RELATED:
US President Joe Biden Drops Out of the Presidential Race, VP Kamala Harris Announces Her Candidacy
With just over three months left until the Nov. 5 presidential election, it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party can quickly coalesce around a successor candidate, adding further uncertainty to the U.S. election landscape.
WHY IS BIDEN OUT?
Concerns about the age and mental fitness of 81-year-old Biden have persisted for some time. Calls for Biden to step aside surged after his disastrous debate performance on June 27. Over 30 Democratic lawmakers have publicly urged him to withdraw.
Some of the Democratic Party’s major donors have also begun to jump ship, withdrawing their financial support for Biden’s campaign. According to The New York Times, donations from Biden’s big donors are expected to plummet by half in July.
Recently, U.S. media reported that prominent Democratic figures, including former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have privately expressed concerns about Biden’s electoral prospects and urged him to step down.
On Friday, the day after former President Donald Trump officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination, another two Democratic Senators and 10 Democratic House members called for Biden to step down. In the weeks following the debate, Biden attempted to counter the calls within the Democratic Party for him to withdraw, repeatedly reaffirming his commitment to continue his campaign.
The night before announcing his withdrawal, he stated on social media that this was “the most important election of our lifetimes” and declared, “I will win it.” Biden’s decision to drop out at such a late stage of the election cycle highlights the severe crisis facing Biden after the first presidential debate.
Only two Democratic presidents, Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson, decided not to run again during an election year in the last 75 years. Yet, “the circumstances are quite different,” the New York Times reported, citing Tim Naftali, a presidential historian and faculty scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.
Truman was 67 when he decided not to seek another term, while Johnson was 59 when he ended his campaign. Both withdrew from their respective reelection bids in the early months of election season as they struggled to find a way to end grinding, unpopular wars.
According to polling data compiled by the U.S. election information website Real Clear Politics, as of July 18, Trump led Biden by an average of 3 percentage points in national polls and was ahead in key swing states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
After Biden announced his withdrawal, Obama said in a statement that this was undoubtedly one of the most difficult decisions of Biden’s life. “Joe has never backed down from a fight. For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life,” Obama said.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never before withdrawn from the race at such a late stage. This introduces uncertainty to the Democratic Party’s election prospects and shakes up the overall U.S. election landscape.
After announcing his withdrawal, Biden offered his full support for nominating Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate and urged Democrats to unite to defeat the Republican presidential nominee, Trump. The Clintons also expressed their support for Harris as the party’s nominee.
However, Democratic heavyweights such as Obama, Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not endorse Harris in their statements. The Hill noted this “notable omission as Democrats head into an uncharted path forward.”
Although Harris is Biden’s heir apparent, Pelosi previously expressed a preference for determining the party’s nominee through an open process. The Democratic National Convention, initially scheduled for August 19-22 in Chicago, was intended to formally nominate the candidate. Whether the party can reach a consensus on a candidate before then remains to be seen.
Currently, Harris’s approval ratings are not particularly high, and she does not significantly outperform Biden in polls against Trump. According to Real Clear Politics, Trump led Harris by an average of 1.7 percentage points in national polls by July 18.
Who else could be the nominee? According to U.S. media analyses, potential candidates include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who participated in the 2020 primaries. However, Whitmer has publicly stated she does not intend to run. Additionally, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who changed his party registration to independent in May, is also a potential candidate.
“On the one hand, they (Democrats) got what many in the party wanted: Biden out. On the other, the process for what comes next is a big question — and a potentially difficult one,” The Washington Post said in an article. The Axios, meanwhile, said the DNC could be “a wild ride.”
TURBULENT U.S. ELECTION
Following Biden’s withdrawal from the race, the struggle for a successor within the Democratic Party may lead to continued chaos. On the Republican side, some lawmakers have begun to urge Biden to resign from office.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement.
“If the Democratic party has deemed Joe Biden unfit to run for reelection, he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes. Biden must step down from office immediately,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
Trump has claimed that his campaign team was forced to spend time and money battling Biden, and now that Biden has withdrawn, they have to start over. “Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe … knew he was not capable of running for, or being, President?” said the Republican nominee.
Biden’s withdrawal is the latest twist in the chaotic 2024 U.S. election. Just a week ago, Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his right ear.
In the past few days, as calls for Biden to withdraw have intensified within the Democratic Party, donors have begun to abandon him. Trump, who is leading in polls, has been drawing significant donations.
Billionaire Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman announced his support for Trump following the assassination attempt. Six months ago, he supported Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips, who ran in the Democratic primary. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently announced support for Trump’s presidential bid, pledging 45 million dollars monthly to a super PAC, an independent political action committee that can raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions and big donors.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: Xinhua
