The President of the United States, Joe Bidenannounced this Sunday (June 21, 2024) that he will not seek re-election on November 5. The decision came after weeks of pressure from party allies and campaign donors for the Democrat to drop out of the presidential race.
Biden, 81, is the oldest U.S. chief executive to ever lead the White House. His advanced age, coupled with doubts about his cognitive and mental abilities, have raised concerns among supporters.
Doubts about the Democrat increased after him present a poor performance in the debate against Donald Trumpon June 27. During the debate, the Democrat had difficulty completing his arguments, stuttered and seemed to get lost at various moments.
Biden’s performance culminated in a wave of criticism from the press. O New York Times published an editorial stating that the president should give up his bid for reelection. Democratic representatives and senators also endorsed the withdrawal. Obama threw in the towel.
O Poder360 prepared a timeslimes Biden’s withdrawal:
A “bad night”as described Biden’s comments on the debate cost him his continued presence in the race. The Democrat bowed to pressure 25 days after the clash.
The decision, however, appears to have been made in the last few hours. White House aides said they learned that the Democrat had dropped out via X (formerly Twitter).
Next steps
Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris (Democrat). The 3,896 Democratic delegates who pledged their support to Biden in the primary can follow the president’s wishes, but by rule they are not required to.
The Democratic National Convention will be held August 19-22, 2024, in Chicago. The party had planned a virtual vote ahead of the event to officially nominate Biden and give the president more security.
This online vote could be postponed or canceled, but if Democratic leaders can achieve unity among delegates in their support for Kamala, the vice president could be officially announced as a candidate. There is also the possibility of unity around the name of another candidate. The short time frame, however, is an obstacle to this scenario.
What can happen at the convention:
If a candidate is chosen before the convention, the vote would be taken and the ceremony would proceed as usual. If no candidate is chosen, each candidate must have the signatures of at least 300 delegates to appear on the convention ballot — no more than 50 from a single state.
Each delegate can only support one name. Signatures can be collected before or during the event.
The next step is a first vote with only the “committed” delegates. If a majority is obtained, the candidate is made official. Otherwise, there is a second vote in which the “superdelegates” can vote. The vote is repeated, round after round, until a majority is formed.
#Bidens #withdrawal #days #debate