The following is an unofficial translation of an article found here on A Nova Democracia, originally published on July 22, 2024.
By Joao Alves
Yesterday, July 21, Joe Biden announced that he had withdrawn from running in the United States presidential election. The decision comes eight days after Donald Trump was shot with an AR-15 and after a large movement within the “Democratic” Party pressured Biden to withdraw due to his notable inability to perform well in the electoral debates. “It is in the best interest of my party and the country that I withdraw and focus exclusively on fulfilling my duties as president,” Biden wrote in the “Letter to the Nation” published on his social media.
Among the “democrats”, the decision is seen as correct, and is seen as a new opportunity to remove Donald Trump from the favorite position until November.
Nothing off script
In his resignation letter, Joe Biden cited points of his administration that he considers “great progress for the nation.” All of these are part of the “Democrats’” program and should be taken up by the next candidate. They are: investments in the “reconstruction” of the American economy, health programs and reduction of drug costs, programs for military veterans, “gun laws,” the appointment of the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court, and climate legislation.
He also highlighted the “worst economic crisis since the Great Depression” of 1929 and considered that “alliances around the world” had been revitalized and strengthened.
With these achievements, Biden hopes to contribute to his party’s electoral program.
It is speculated that Biden’s delay in announcing his withdrawal was part of a strategy that sought to not give the “Republicans” any grounds to use the political fact – unprecedented since 1968 – as a guarantee of victory at the Republican Convention, which ended last Thursday, 07/18.
Who will be the ‘democratic’ candidate?
In Joe Biden’s letter, there is a personal thank you to Kamala Harris, which raised expectations that she will be supported by Biden. This was confirmed a few hours later through another post: “Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year,” wrote Biden, who also announced that the campaign’s slogan will be: “Let’s get the job done.”
The Democratic Party convention will be held on August 19. Party bigwigs such as Josh Shapiro (governor of Pennsylvania), Gavin Newsom (governor of California), and Mark Kelly (senator) have already declared their support for the current vice president. Bill and Hillary Clinton have also supported Kamala. Barack Obama stated that in the coming days, the United States will be “navigating uncharted waters,” but confirmed that he has “extraordinary confidence” that an “excellent candidate” will emerge.
In the most recent electoral polls, Kamala’s name appears behind Trump (distance of 2%). However, at a smaller distance when compared to the Trump x Biden scenario (distance of 4%).
The Democratic Party is trying to regain the spotlight. New political events involving Biden, Kamala and other big names in the “Democratic” party are expected to mobilize public opinion for the immense challenge of presenting a ticket that can be competitive.
Still, the main point of the decision is that it is part of an unprecedented crisis of US imperialism. The last time a “Democratic” candidate withdrew from the race was in 1968, with Lyndon Johnson. At that time, the “Republican” candidate Richard Nixon emerged victorious.
