After weeks of a nightmare election campaign, Joe Biden withdraws from the race for the White House.
He announced it in a historic letter addressed to American citizens and published in X: «It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as president. And while it was my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to retire and focus solely on my duties as president for the remainder of my term ."
The president then passes the baton to his deputy Kamala Harris: «My very first decision as the party's nominee in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it was the best decision I made. Today I want to offer my full support and support for Kamala to be our party's candidate this year. Democrats: It's time to unite and beat Trump. Let's do it".
The news was expected, after the debacle at the first confrontation with Donald Trump, the disastrous polls and the numerous pressures for him to take a step back . The attempted assassination of Donald Trump seemed to have calmed the controversy, or at least distracted attention. In recent days, however, the pressure began to rise again and Biden finally gave in. The president's number two is the most obvious and inevitable choice, being his natural heir, even in the event of death or illness during the presidency. But the path for Harris, from here to the convention, is anything but downhill and there will be many obstacles on her path to running for the White House. “I am honored by Joe Biden's endorsement, I will earn the nomination and beat Trump,” says the first African-American vice president in history, who, according to CNN, only found out about the decision today, when they spoke on the phone "several times" during the day.
Democratic party leaders and donors ultimately managed to back Joe Biden into a corner, pushing him to withdraw after the disastrous debate against Donald Trump. Since his face-to-face meeting with his rival on June 27, the president has fought like a lion to relaunch his image in the eyes of the Americans and the party. His efforts - including interviews and close contact with the public - did not, however, have the desired effect: requests for withdrawal have not slowed down, on the contrary they have increased.
And if Biden was able to withstand the pressure of some deputies, he could do nothing against Barack Obama, who today thanks him and defines him as "a friend and partner of mine, a patriot", but also against Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Heffries. They, the party heavyweights, worried by increasingly catastrophic polls that give Trump practically all the key states in view of November, have sealed Biden's fate. Publicly they have never taken a stand against the president: they have maintained their silence, like Obama's deafening silence, or they have sent others forward. On July 10, George Clooney, a major Democratic donor and friend of Obama, also asked him to leave.
The coordinated campaign - only the Clintons were with Biden - however achieved the desired effect, also thanks to the influence of donors who turned off the taps, making the president's campaign lack the energy to continue. The repeated contacts between Pelosi and Obama, leaked through indiscretions, were for Biden a clear sign of the grip that was tightening on him, instigated - according to his campaign - by the former speaker of the House and with his former boss as puppet master .
Joe Biden will be remembered "as the worst president in the history of our country" and his deputy Kamala Harris "will be even easier to beat", Trump's reaction a few minutes after the announcement of the withdrawal, released in a phone call to CNN, the American TV most hostile to him. Then on his social network Truth he claims that everyone knew from the beginning of the dem leader's inadequacy to lead the country: «The dishonest Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and he is certainly not fit to serve - and never is state! He only achieved the position of president through lies, fake news and without leaving his basement. Everyone around him, including his doctor and the media, knew he was not capable of being president, and he was not." Then an attack on one of his flagships, the invasion of migrants at the border with Mexico: «And now, look what it has done to our country, with millions of people crossing our border, totally uncontrolled, many coming from prisons , mental institutions and a record number of terrorists. We will suffer greatly from his presidency, but we will very quickly reverse the damage he has caused. Let's make America great again." The tycoon also took advantage of this to increase fundraising among his fans, with an email from his campaign in which he asks "millions of pro-Trump patriots to contribute" with donations to his race: "Today we make history."
(Unioneonline/D)