Image source, EFE-Environmental Protection Agency
- author, Drafting
- Role, BBC World News
-
US President Joe Biden could no longer resist the pressure and on Sunday took a radical turn in the November 5 election campaign by withdrawing his candidacy and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
“This is what’s best for my party and for the country,” he said at the end of his re-election campaign on Sunday.
The decision comes less than four months before Americans go to the polls to elect their next president in an election in which the Republican nominee is already known: the former president. Donald Trump.
This shift in the race for the White House comes after weeks of intense stress Biden’s fellow Democrats, after his questionable performance in the debate against Trump in late June, which highlighted concerns about the president’s age, 81.
The presidential office in Washington confirmed that Biden will complete his current four-year term until January 2025.
Image source, Getty Images
Biden stressed, in a message posted on his social media account, that the presidency of the United States was the greatest honor of his life.
“Although my intention was to seek re-election, I believe that The best thing for my party and the country is for me to retire. And focus only on performing my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
He added in his statement that he will travel to the country to provide more details in the coming days.
Shortly after, he showed his support for Harris, who has taken on the challenge of trying to be the nominee in a short but still open process in which she has already achieved significant support this Sunday, beyond that of Biden, such as that which Biden has received. Bill and Hillary Clinton And the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom.
Other candidates may have expressed interest, but Harris is now the frontrunner. She was the first female vice president in history, and if she eventually wins the nomination, she will seek to be the first female president.
Image source, Getty Images
What happened on a historic day turns the presidential campaign upside down
- US President Joe Biden dropped out of the re-election race on Sunday after weeks of mounting pressure from many Democrats.
- He said this was “best for my party and the country,” but he would remain in office for the final six months of his term.
- Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris, his running mate, as the new nominee.
- Kamala Harris responded, “I will do everything in my power to unite our nation and defeat Donald Trump.”
- Several important and powerful Democrats have already expressed their support for Harris, including: Bill and Hillary Clinton.
- previous president Barack ObamaHe described him, who led the country with Biden as vice president, as “one of the best presidents the United States has ever had,” but did not take a position on Harris’ potential nomination.
- Whether or not Harris will be the nominee could be revealed at the Democratic National Convention, which begins on August 19 in Chicago.
- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote on his social network Truth Social that the current president is “not in a position to run for president.”
- Other prominent Republicans have reacted more harshly, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, who wrote:
- Americans will go to the polls in four months: November 5.
Kamala Harris, Favorite
In his retirement message on social media
“My first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to select Kamala Harris as my vice president. It was the best decision I ever made. Today, I want to offer my full support and encouragement to that decision.” Kamala is our party’s candidate This year. Democrats: It’s time to unite and defeat Trump. Let’s do it!”
Harris, 59, is widely considered a potential successor to Biden in the presidential race, though it’s still too early to tell who the Democratic nominee will be.
After learning of Biden’s decision, the US Vice President thanked him for his support and expressed her intention to run for president.
“It is an honor to have the support of the President and My goal is to deserve this nomination and win it.“He said in a statement.
Image source, Getty Images
He announced that he will continue his election campaign across the country.
“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party (and our nation) with the goal of Donald Trump’s defeat And his extremist agenda for Project 2025.”
Project 2025 is a controversial plan drawn up by A. Thought Center The conservative Republican hardliner is a government reformer who Trump and his campaign have publicly distanced themselves from.
Although Kamala Harris has the current president’s endorsement, it is not certain that she will replace him in his candidacy for the elections.
Everything will be determined in National Democratic Congress, Which will be held next month in Chicago.
The event begins on August 19, though Biden’s party has accelerated the process to meet Ohio’s August 7 certification deadline, meaning the new nominee should be announced in just over two weeks.
Clinton and Obama
Bill Clinton, former President of the United States, and his wife, Hillary Clinton, who ran and lost to Trump in 2016, They also supported Kamala Harris..
They said in a statement published on X that they would do “everything in our power to support her.”
For his part, former President Barack Obama, who led the country with Biden as vice president, responded to the news with a post on the social network X.
Image source, Getty Images
“Joe Biden was one of America’s greatest presidents, and he is also a dear friend and partner of mine,” he wrote.
“We were also reminded today, once again, that he is a patriot of the highest order,” he continued. Without taking a position at this time on a potential Harris nomination..
Obama won the election twice and Biden was his second vice president.
However, in recent weeks, he has joined other top Democrats in calling for him to reconsider his decision to run for re-election amid concerns about his advanced age and polls showing Trump leading in the presidential race.
pressure after discussion
Biden returned to his home in Delaware last week after being diagnosed with Covid, but said Friday he hopes to “be back on the campaign trail next week.”
He had previously said that only “God Almighty” could force him to retire, but later stated that he would consider retiring if he suffered from a health problem.
And the voices calling for Biden’s withdrawal began to intensify after that. Face to face with Trump on June 27.
Image source, Getty Images
He received criticism for Sometimes they express themselves incoherently and speak in a weak voice.His party attributed it to a cold.
After the debate, calls within his party for him to step down multiplied, and a growing number of Democrats in Congress fear that Biden’s insistence will harm his chances of re-election in November.
Several senators who are part of the upper house of Congress have also called for his resignation.
Democrats’ election text blown up
Analysis by Anthony Zurcher, BBC North America correspondent
Over the past half century, political conventions have become rather dull events.
By planning every minute of television in detail, they were turned into long, multi-day commercials promoting the presidential candidate.
This was the Republican convention last week, even with Donald Trump’s nomination acceptance speech, which was very long and at times distracting.
The Democratic convention in Chicago next month is set to be very different. Any text the party and Biden campaign had been working on so far has been blown up and discarded.
Even if the party aligns with Kamala Harris, it will be difficult to plan for — and control — how events at the convention will unfold.
If Harris fails to unite the party, the convention could become a free-for-all with multiple candidates vying for the nomination in front of cameras and behind closed doors.
We could witness a wonderful and unexpected live political theater, something that American audiences have never seen before.
Remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate it.
“Award-winning alcohol trailblazer. Hipster-friendly internetaholic. Twitter ninja. Infuriatingly humble beer lover. Pop culture nerd.”