Democrats surround Biden

Joe Biden is becoming increasingly isolated, and not only because of Covid: there are already 54 congressmen who have rejected his candidacy for re-election, 25 who have expressed doubts and dozens more who have expressed it privately. Of the latter, the most prominent is Barack Obama, in whose administration he served as vice president and very close adviser and will now work behind the scenes to convince him to make a dignified exit, according to reports. Washington Post ,

Another heavyweight, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who only last week publicly expressed her doubts, would have gone a step further. For her, the best option in the event of Biden’s resignation would be to hold new, smaller-scale primaries to choose the best candidate rather than the direct election of Vice President Kamala Harris at the Chicago convention in August.

Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi lead criticism of the president in private meetings

That competitive process would be an opportunity for Democratic delegates to choose their best candidate. It would help re-engage voters who do not identify with Biden’s policies and who would maintain their dissatisfaction even if the chosen one is Harris, the president’s natural successor and favorite. As several US media have confirmed, Pelosi would have proposed that option in a closed-door meeting in her homeland of California.

At this point in the electoral race, it is becoming clear that Biden will not be able to last until the final race. And it is not a question of if but of how and when. Although Biden, isolated at his beach house in Delaware with “mild symptoms” of Covid, has not shown any clear signs of leaving, in conversations with his close environment he appears increasingly “receptive” to making way for a more youthful and charismatic , according to the new York Times ,

According to that medium, there is a consensus on the question of how to do it in a dignified way if it happens and not create an even bigger crisis in the party. This leads one to think that Biden will wait until the coronavirus is over to make a proper announcement, whether from the Oval Office, from Congress or at an event where he can bring together his allies in the party.

If Biden drops out of the candidacy but finishes his term by the end of the year, he will likely ask his delegates selected during the primary process – which he won without any contest – to vote for Harris at the Chicago convention. However, these delegates will be free to cast their votes for any candidate who wishes to step forward and challenge the open designation of vice president. But, in light of the polls, visibility, and money raised in her joint campaign with Biden, Harris appears to be the most viable and continuity option for the party.

“They want to take over the entire presidential ticket,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the second-youngest congresswoman and a member of the party’s progressive wing, said on Friday. She was referring to the fact that some Democratic sectors want not only to force Biden’s withdrawal, but also to prevent Harris from taking power in his place, which could lead to a major crisis in the party. Among this sector would be Pelosi, who is certainly not an ally of Ocasio.

In her first week as a congresswoman, Ocasio organized a sit-in outside Pelosi’s office to demand that Green New Deal It was a priority.

The question of when seems more uncertain. Although some of Biden’s aides told the Axios portal that they are close to persuading him to step down this weekend, the announcement today seems unlikely, as the president is still ill and has already announced that he will resume his campaign events next week.

On Monday he will welcome the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who will attend Congress on Wednesday at the invitation of Republican and Democratic leaders, although at the initiative of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the conservative Mike Johnson. Biden will not want to give the Israeli leader the satisfaction of speaking on Capitol Hill. The relationship between Biden and Netanyahu has been strained for years. For example, the president believes that the prime minister leads Israel’s “most authoritarian government in history.” Netanyahu, for his part, has ignored Biden’s request to “minimize civilian casualties” in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Republican candidate Donald Trump took a mass bath at the conclusion of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday. The unity around him was very strong during the four-day contest. This unity is in contrast to the state of Biden’s candidacy and the divisions among the Democrats.

Last night, Trump attended a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a key state. It was his first since the assassination attempt and he was accompanied by first-time vice presidential candidate Ohio Senator JD Vance.