Now a period begins in which the Democratic Party must choose its successor. They are trying to do so before the party convention, which will take place in the first week of August. The name of its current vice president, Kamala Harris, has been resonating strongly for days.
Breaking news. Following pressure from broad sectors of the Democratic Party, Joe Biden withdraws his presidential candidacy for the US elections pic.twitter.com/nXbiKZhnEw
— The Left Daily (@izquierdadiario) July 21, 2024
Despite his insistence in recent weeks to continue with his candidacy, especially after the presidential debate where Biden could be seen lost and in many passages of the debate unable to finish sentences, and the attack on Donald Trump that strengthened the weakness that the Democratic Party is dragging, this Sunday the current American president stepped aside.
In a public letter Biden stated that: “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all of my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it has been the best one.” and in another message from social network X: “For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me re-elected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all of this work. And let me express my sincere thanks to the American people for the faith and trust they have placed in me.”.
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
In this way, he gave explicit support to Kamala Harris, who at this point, taking into account the latest polls, would be three or four points behind Trump.
This scenario of him giving up his candidacy was quite probable. As Claudia Cinatti states in an article published this Sunday: “Despite this being an election that could change the course not only of American policy but of international dynamics as a whole, starting with the war in Ukraine and the future of NATO, and despite the fact that some analysts, even from the conservative spectrum, have been warning about the possibility of a “dictatorship” being established if Trump were to win, the contest seemed to be reduced to the confrontation between a convict – Donald Trump – and an old man with obvious signs of deterioration – Joe Biden –. A metaphor for the decline of the United States and the crisis of hegemony of the ruling class and its traditional parties.“.
Since Biden withdrew his candidacy before the August convention (to be held in Chicago), the replacement could be decided there, but there is also speculation that the party leadership will arrive at that convention with a consensus candidate. Joe Biden has 3,908 of the 3,939 delegates. The laws of each state decide how these delegates should be chosen (which he does not fully control anyway). He can also release his delegates to vote freely for the possible candidates who come forward. The winner would be the candidate who obtains the support of at least 1,976 delegates.
Now what?
As reported in a New York Times article: “President Biden can recommend what his delegates should do (…). But he doesn’t control his delegates: He can’t tell them who to vote for next month. And, because partisan politics are what they are, they’re likely to go with whoever they think has the best chance of defeating Trump. (…) Among the possible candidates to consider are a handful of governors: Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gavin Newsom of California, JB Pritzker of Illinois and Andy Beshear of Kentucky.”
The note was also given, through his social networks, by Bernie Sanders (the left wing of the Democratic Party), exaggeratedly vindicating, one could say, Biden. Without taking into account his policy towards immigrants, nor how militarism advanced, both in the US, and in European imperialist countries that via NATO have been arming Zelensky’s side in Russia’s war with that country, and even less the support of the Democratic Party to the State of Israel with its genocide of the Palestinian people (something it shares with the Republican Party, given that support and collaboration with Israel is a matter of State for the imperialist country), but which earned him the rejection of broad sectors of American youth, calling him “Genocidal Joe.” “Thank you Mr. President for everything you gave” Sanders ends by saying, “Won’t that be too much?”
Biden has withdrawn from the presidential candidacy. Beyond the obvious reasons for his resignation, we will not forget his support for the genocide of the Palestinian people. In recent months, American youth have made their repudiation of the genocide known to him in the streets and in the occupation of universities…
— Nicolas del Caño (@NicolasdelCano) July 21, 2024
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
