Biden announces withdrawal from US presidential race and bets on Kamala Harris

United States President Joe Biden announced this Sunday that he was withdrawing from the re-election race. In early July, the Democrat had assured that he would only concede defeat if “God Almighty” told him to, but he finally succumbed to more mundane pressures and appeals: the appeals of his own colleagues and supports within the party.

In a statement published on his personal account on the social network Re-election, he considered that he should leave the presidential race and focus on his work as president until the end of his term.

In another publication, the US President has supported Kamala Harris’ candidacy. “Fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energy on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to select Kamala Harris as my running mate. And it has been the best decision I’ve ever made. Today I want to give Kamala my full support and endorsement to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats: It’s time to unite and defeat Trump. Let’s do this,” he said.

Now, the Democratic Party will have to choose a new candidate to present in the November elections. In recent weeks, Kamala Harris’s name has been heard the most, even internally the party has already carried out surveys on what results the current vice president would get against Trump. The press conference that Biden held during the NATO summit in Washington – in which he confused President Volodymyr Zelensky with the Russian Vladimir Putin – has already put Harris in the spotlight and praised her: “I would not have chosen her (as vice president) if it weren’t because I believed she was qualified for the presidency.”

According to a survey by US news agency AP and NORC think tank, about 60% of Democratic voters believe Harris would be a good president and only two in ten voters believe she would not be a good president. The results also show that the vice president does not enjoy much popularity among US citizens, as only three in ten think she would perform well in the position.

The previous survey conducted by AP and NORC also indicated that 65% of Democratic voters believe Biden should withdraw from the presidential race and let the party choose another candidate; furthermore, after the disastrous election debate in late June, party followers who say they are not satisfied with Biden’s candidacy has grown from 38% to 48%. The percentage of voters who trust the mental ability of an eight-year-old to become president has also decreased (from 40% in February to 27% in July) and nearly half have little or no confidence that Biden can preside over the country again.

Election debates set alarm bells ringing

Since his poor performance during the election debates against Trump, concerns about his health status and his ability to stay in the race until November and win the election on the 5th have been growing in recent weeks, with pressure mounting on him to decide to retire. The assassination attempt against his opponent on July 13 gave him a respite from the scrutiny he was facing from the press and his party’s critics, but it has also created more panic in the Democratic ranks.

Trump has managed to capitalize on the image of a political victim, which has not only ensured him full control over his party but also helped him attack the Democrats. Now the running slogan among Republicans is to point to Biden’s party as the one inciting tension and division in the country. The inflammatory rhetoric of the former president, who even claimed that there would be a “bloodbath” if he did not win the election, is hidden behind the image of Trump with his fist raised and his face smeared with blood.

The Republican narrative is already managing to shift the focus of the campaign and has forced Biden to apologize for using the expression “target.”Bullseyein English) to Trump a few days before the shooting against him – which left the former president with a minor injury to his right ear.

COVID has not helped Biden: on July 17 he had to suspend the electoral campaign after testing positive for COVID while he was in the key state of Nevada, where he was to give a speech at the UnidosUS annual conference, an important Latin organization. News of the contagion came shortly after Biden’s interview with Ed Gordon of the Breaking Entertainment News channel became public, in which the president said he would reconsider his decision to stay in the race if doctors diagnosed him with a serious medical problem.

After that interview, one of the senators Nancy Pelosi joined the list of congresswomen who called on this elderly leader to step down from his stubbornness. “While the decision to step down from the campaign is solely President Biden’s, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, ensure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the next election,” the California senator said.

Former President Barack Obama (2009-2017) also withdrew his confidence in him, who reportedly told people close to him that Biden should “seriously reconsider” the future of his candidacy, as he published his views. Washington Postwhile Biden was in isolation at his beach house in Rehoboth, where he was confined for several days this week (July 15-19). The health isolation matches what he has experienced within the party and contrasts with Trump, who was endorsed by his entourage during the Republican convention in Milwaukee during the same days.