Just 25 days after health issues were raised following a TV debate, the landscape of the U.S. presidential election has drastically changed.
In late June, President Joe Biden, who faced pressure to withdraw as a candidate due to health issues after a TV debate with former President Donald Trump, has ultimately decided not to seek re-election. He announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the new candidate.
On July 21st, CNN reported that as pressure for Biden to end his re-election bid intensified, he decided to step down from the presidential race and endorse Vice President Harris as the new Democratic candidate. Biden stated that he believes stepping down and focusing solely on his presidential duties for the remainder of his term is in the best interest of the party and the country.
If confirmed as the candidate, Vice President Harris, who has the potential to become an unprecedented historical nominee in the U.S. presidential race, expressed her gratitude for Biden’s endorsement and stated that she will win the nomination.
Should Vice President Harris be confirmed as the candidate, she would symbolize a historic moment as the first Black and Asian American woman to be nominated by the Democratic and Republican parties. It was reported that prominent members of the Democratic Party, including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as progressive members, are supporting Harris following evaluations of Biden’s leadership.
President Biden’s endorsement does not guarantee that Vice President Harris will be named as the immediate replacement candidate. The process for the Democratic Party to select an alternative candidate has not been finalized.
It was reported that the Democratic Party might hold an open vote for the presidential candidate on early August or choose the nominee during the Democratic National Convention starting in Chicago on August 19th.
Meanwhile, former President Trump criticized Biden as the “worst president in our country’s history” on his social networking service Truth Social account following Biden’s decision. He also stated that his debate with Biden was supposed to be aired on ‘Fake News’ ABC in September, but now that Biden has dropped out, he believes the debate should be conducted by Fox News, rather than the biased ABC.