Joe Biden has withdrawn from the election.
US President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race. On Sunday, he released a letter stating that he made this decision for the sake of the party and the country, and proposed Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. Harris, in turn, has promised to earn and win the nomination – the Democratic convention is scheduled for the end of August. Biden plans to address the nation later this week as he is currently recovering from COVID-19. Harris is expected to make her first appearance in her new status at a White House event today.
Biden Exits the Presidential Race: What is Known
Only two of Biden’s closest aides knew about his final decision to exit the presidential race. On Saturday night, the president instructed them to prepare the statement. Even Vice President Kamala Harris learned of Biden’s withdrawal only on Sunday, just before the publication of his statement, according to CNN sources in the administration. Despite this, Biden proposed Harris as his replacement: “The greatest honor of my life has been serving you as President. Although I intended to run for a second term, I believe it is better for the party and the country if I step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President until the end of my term.”
Biden’s age-related changes had been evident for some time: he repeatedly stumbled on the steps of Air Force One, on stages where he was speaking, and even while riding a bicycle in front of journalists. During public speeches without a teleprompter, he occasionally mixed up the names of foreign leaders and even members of his own team. Nonetheless, he announced his candidacy for a second term, and party members in various states supported him in the primaries. However, his performance in the first televised debate was a wake-up call for Democrats.
The president looked very pale, tired, and hoarse. He listened to Trump with a frozen expression and a slightly open mouth. But the worst part was that he often lost his train of thought and couldn’t finish sentences. That same evening, Democrats sounded the alarm – it was time for the president to rest. Both publicly and privately, Biden was told he couldn’t win, and sponsors withdrew contributions from his campaign fund.
Ninety percent of the questions at the press conference after the NATO summit were about his age and doubts about his ability to serve a second term. Biden acknowledged that he was old but insisted that it did not affect his work capacity or intellect. Pressure intensified before the past weekend – the press wrote that the next few hours would be decisive. While on COVID-19 self-isolation, Biden made the difficult decision to propose Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement. Although the presidential candidate is chosen by the party, there is no doubt that Democrats will support her. Harris has publicly received numerous congratulations and encouragements.
Harris’s Stance on Ukraine
Predicting Harris’s policy toward Ukraine and whether she might be more decisive in confronting Russia is challenging. In Biden’s administration, Harris dealt with entirely different issues – the migration crisis, abortion rights, and so on. Representing the US at the peace summit in Switzerland, she voiced Biden’s points and generally maintained loyalty to him throughout these years.
Reaction from Trump and His Allies
Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who has consistently referred to Biden as “crooked” or “sleepy Joe” on social media, didn’t change his tune this time. “Crooked Joe Biden is undoubtedly the worst president in our country’s history. He was destroyed in the debate, and now the corrupt and radical Democrats are throwing him overboard. He was unfit to serve from the start, but the people around him hid his total mental, physical, and cognitive demise from America. Whoever the left puts forward now, it will be the same,” said Trump.
By removing Biden, the Democrats have taken away the Republicans’ main trump card – the age of their candidate. Now, 78-year-old Trump has become the oldest presidential candidate in American history. Republicans had already developed strategies in case Biden was replaced, writes The New York Times.
Harris has faced a barrage of accusations: that changing the candidate this way is illegal and that she allegedly knew about Biden’s cognitive issues but kept silent. Republicans intend to demand Biden’s early resignation. However, the White House has stated that the president will work until the end of his term. One of the main proponents of this stance is Trump’s vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance.
“If Joe Biden ends his campaign, what excuses can there be for him remaining president? The fact that he is not running means that President Trump was right all along that Biden is mentally unfit to perform the duties of commander-in-chief,” Vance stated.
Who Will Be Harris’s Running Mate
It is currently unknown who will be Harris’s running mate in the election. The press frequently mentions the names of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. Several polling agencies have already conducted surveys on the new pair of candidates.
Who Has the Chance to Win the Election
“Compiled data from CNN, including several polls, indicates that Trump is currently leading by only 1%. All these dramatic changes have taken place 107 days before the election. The battle for the White House will now feature a black daughter of immigrants, a former prosecutor, against a billionaire with a criminal background who has publicly demeaned women, immigrants, and the US judicial system. This promises to be a clash not just between two political forces, but between two polarities, opposing value systems,” says a correspondent.
