US President Joe Biden finally announced on July 21 that he is dropping out of his reelection battle with Donald Trump, a historic move that plunges the already turbulent 2024 White House race into uncharted territory. Biden, 81, endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris to take over the ticket vacated by him. Notably, if Biden’s endorsement is accepted, Kamala Harris will become the first Indian-origin woman to contest the US presidential elections. Biden’s decision to drop out of the race came after pressure from the Democratic lawmakers and party officials after his weak performance in the first presidential debate against Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, facing little opposition, Biden easily won the Democratic Party’s primary race to pick its presidential candidate, despite voter concerns about his age. Biden initially resisted pressure to step aside. He held damage-control calls and meetings with lawmakers and state governors, and sat for rare television interviews. But it was not enough. His gaffes at a NATO summit – invoking Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name when he meant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and calling Harris “Vice President Trump” – further stoked anxieties. Polls showed Trump’s lead in key battleground states widening, and Democrats began to fear a wipeout in the House and Senate. On July 17, California’s Rep. Adam Schiff called on him to exit the race.
The impact on Biden’s health, his family, and the country’s stability are key factors being weighed in by the Democratic Party. Discussions have revolved around ensuring that his exit 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. Democratic Party leaders have told Biden in a private conversation that polls show he cannot defeat Donald Trump and that he could even wreck the chances of the 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.
Never before has a sitting president and presumptive nominee dropped out of the race so late in the process. The Democratic Party will need to nominate Kamala Harris formally at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, making her the first African-American woman to win the nomination of a major politician for the White House in a country that has elected one Black president and never a woman president in more than two centuries of democracy. The latest shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket could boost the party’s chances. However, the Democratic Party now faces the anxiety-inducing question of how voters will respond to Biden’s departure from the presidential race.
