Biden announced his withdrawal from the election and shocked all parties! US media： He became the first incumbent US president to give up his re-election opportunity in 56 years.
[Feng Yaren, special correspondent of the Global Times in the United States, and Ren Zhong, special correspondent of the Global Times] Under the strong pressure within the Democratic Party, US President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 US presidential election in a statement on the afternoon of July 21, local time, and expressed support for Vice President Harris to take over the nomination of the Democratic Party and run for the presidency. The US media said that this decision marked the rapid and shocking end of Biden’s 52-year electoral political career, and Biden became the first incumbent president to give up his re-election opportunity in 56 years. The last person who gave up re-election was President lyndon johnson, who was mired in the Vietnam War. In March 1968, he announced that he would not seek another term. For Biden’s withdrawal from the election, former US President Barack Obama praised his decision and said that "Biden is a patriot of the highest level". Democratic Senator Bennett said Biden’s withdrawal gave the Democratic Party a "chance to beat Trump". However, Republican presidential candidate Trump criticized Biden as the worst president in American history. He also said that Harris will be more easily defeated than Biden. The New York Times commented that Biden led the United States out of the epidemic and the ensuing economic turmoil, but his hope of bridging the widening rift in the United States during Trump’s administration has been shattered, and American society is still seriously polarized. At the same time, Biden’s decision subverted the campaign and laid the foundation for an unprecedented noisy and unpredictable campaign in modern history. Harris has only 107 days left to consolidate the support of Democrats and establish himself as a credible national leader.
Announce online instead of facing the camera
"Being your president is the greatest honor in my life." Biden said in a letter posted on social media, "Although I have always intended to seek re-election, I believe that it is in the best interests of my party and country to withdraw from the election and focus on fulfilling my duties as president during the remaining term." Later, he posted on social media that he fully supported the nomination of Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate. He also called on Democrats to unite to defeat Republican presidential candidate Trump.
Since his poor performance in the first TV debate at the end of June, Biden has faced increasing pressure within the Democratic Party. According to US media reports, former President Obama and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi are privately worried about whether Biden can win this autumn’s general election. Senate Majority Leader Schumer and House Minority Leader jeffries persuaded Biden to quit gracefully, while angry "financiers" threatened to refuse to provide funds.
Although Biden has always insisted that he will not withdraw from the election, the situation changed last weekend. The New York Times quoted an anonymous source as saying that Biden began to change his mind last Saturday. He stayed at his home in Delaware with his family and three assistants, and later called in his long-term adviser, Mike donilon. Because he was still ill, he chose not to make a statement of withdrawal in front of the camera, but wrote the above letter with donilon. According to the report, Biden made up his mind on Sunday morning local time, and separately called Harris, White House Chief of Staff Zintz and Jennifer o’malley Tommy Tam, chairman of his campaign team, to reveal the decision. At 1: 46 pm, the letter was posted online.
After Biden announced his withdrawal from the election, Harris issued a statement thanking Biden and said, "I am honored to get the support of the president, and my purpose is to win this nomination." Schumer praised Biden’s announcement that he would not seek re-election, calling Biden "a true patriot and a great American".
According to Reuters’s report on the 21st, many politicians also reacted to Biden’s decision to withdraw from the election. British Prime Minister Stamer said in a statement: "I respect President Biden’s decision and look forward to working together for the rest of his presidency." Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez said on the social platform: "I admire and recognize President Biden’s brave and solemn decision."
In an interview with NBC, Trump responded to Biden’s withdrawal, saying, "No president has ever done so much damage to our country, and we will correct what he did." House Speaker Johnson wrote on the social platform: "If Biden is not suitable for running for the presidency, then he is not suitable for the presidency. He must resign immediately. "
A group of Democrats expressed their support for Harris.
Washington post said on the 21st that after Biden decided to stop running for re-election, there were two ways to choose a candidate who could replace him as the Democratic presidential candidate. One is virtual voting. Representatives of the Democratic Party decided on a new presidential candidate in early August through online voting. The US media said that this process is likely to benefit Harris to avoid conflicts at the Democratic National Convention.
If the Democratic Party does not hold a virtual vote, or fails to reach a consensus on a new candidate before the National Congress is held on August 19th, then the final candidate needs to be selected at the meeting. Washington post said that because the final nominator needs more than half of the thousands of delegates attending the meeting, there is a high probability that there will be multiple rounds of voting. "Although this is likely to be a wonderful TV program, it is by no means an ideal situation to have a party split at the conference site."
Despite Biden’s support, Harris has not yet secured the Democratic nomination. The Wall Street Journal said on the 22nd that representatives of the Democratic National Committee are free to vote for the people of their choice. California Governor Newsom, Michigan Governor Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro and Illinois Governor Pritzker are all strong contenders. Selecting candidates from Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio or other "rust belt" States can help Democrats win over key voters.
According to The New York Times, four influential figures in the Democratic Party did not immediately express their support for Harris. Among them was former President Obama, who made no mention of Harris or any other candidate in his statement after Biden announced his withdrawal. In addition, Schumer, jeffries and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Pelosi have not expressed their support for Harris. CNN said that the reason why these top Democratic Party members did not express their position immediately was to avoid appearing that they would force Harris to become a presidential candidate to voters too quickly.
However, The New York Times and other American media believe that Harris is still the most likely candidate. Former President Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and at least dozens of Democratic Party members have publicly expressed their support for Harris. Some Democrats who are considered as potential rivals or running mates in Harris’ party have also joined the ranks of supporting Harris, including Arizona Senator Kelly, Transportation Minister Butigig, California Governor Newsom and Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro.
"Harris and Biden are no different"
According to the Wall Street Journal reported on the 22nd, Harris and her allies took action on the 21st to consolidate the support of the "big money owners". She and her husband had many private conversations with the rich who had supported her that day. According to CNN, Biden’s campaign team submitted a written document to the Federal Election Commission on the 21st, requesting to change the name of the team to "Harris Presidential Campaign Committee". According to the Campaign Law Center, this means that if Harris stays on the list of candidates for the general election, she can control Biden’s campaign account, which had nearly $96 million in cash at the end of June. The New York Times said that in an internal conference call, the head of Biden’s campaign team told the staff that they would now work for Harris.
Washington post reported on the 21st that although Biden has supported Harris to replace him as the Democratic presidential candidate, a recent poll found that there is no difference between Harris and Biden when facing Trump. After summarizing the recent 11 polls, the newspaper found that Trump led Harris by an average of 1.5 percentage points, only slightly lower than his advantage of 1.9 percentage points ahead of Biden.
Sources told Reuters that the Trump campaign had been preparing for Harris’s possible "rise" for several weeks, and that immigration and economic policies were closely linked, and it was planned to try to link her with Biden’s immigration and economic policies. CNN quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Trump’s team is planning to launch a series of negative advertisements to attack Harris in the above areas. Reuters said that the Trump team also produced advertisements accusing Harris of hiding Biden’s health problems from the public. "Look what she has done: border invasion, runaway inflation, and the American dream is shattered." The voice in the advertisement said.
However, the report also quoted political strategists as saying that Harris, as the Democratic presidential candidate, may change the campaign situation in unexpected ways. A 59-year-old black Asian woman will create a new dynamic with 78-year-old Trump. The United States has never elected a female president in its 248-year history. It is wrong for the Trump campaign to think that Harris can be Biden’s simple body double, because she has potential appeal to different voters.