As US President Joe Biden self-isolates himself at his home in Delaware with a Covid-19 infection, he will remain under unrelenting pressure to step aside and let the Democratic Party find a different nominee for the 2024 Presidential elections. The impact on Biden’s health, his family, and the country’s stability are key factors being weighed in. Discussions have revolved around ensuring that the departure, if it happens, not only honours Biden’s over five decades of public service, but also strategically positions the Democratic Party to defeat former President Donald Trump who recently survived an assassination attempt and accepted his Republican Party’s nomination.
Top Congressional Democrats Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer met the President last week and convened their caucuses’ concerns about his chances of winning and the impact of his candidacy on the fate of those running for the House of Representatives and the Senate. The control of the two chambers is also up for grabs — Republicans control the House, while the Democrats have the Senate at this point. 25 Congressional Democrats have now publicly called for President Biden to withdraw from the upcoming race. Top Democratic leaders have reportedly asked Joe Biden that the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he doesn’t step away from the 2024 race.
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has also told Biden in a private conversation that polls show he cannot defeat Donald Trump and that he could even wreck the chances of the Democratic party to retake the House and retain control of the Senate. Biden was told that he may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party. In a further blow to the President, an effort to lock up the nomination before the start of the convention in Chicago, Illinois, by kicking off the polling virtually has been delayed, if not put off. The intention was to wrap up the nomination so that the campaign could get past the uncertainty dogging it.
The Democrats are pushing towards Biden’s exit plans inch by inch. Should Biden quit the race, Kamala Harris, the Indian American Vice-President, is likely to have the strongest claim on Biden’s ticket and campaign funds, which have been raised in the name of the Biden-Harris ticket. A new AP-NORC poll shows two-thirds of Democrats — 65 per cent — want Biden to leave the race and let the party find a different candidate. The news wasn’t too good for Harris from this poll either. Her favourability rating is similar to Biden. Although Harris has the strongest claim on the ticket should Biden withdraw, it’s still not clear how the party will pick its nominee to take On Donald Trump.
