Washington DC.- For many, US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from re-election was a foregone conclusion. But from New York to Michigan, many Democratic voters are anxious and feel as if they are jumping into the void: “This is just another stage of this chaotic circus.”
The news came in mid-Sunday. After three weeks of speculation about his mental acuity and physical health, the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden, 81, finally threw in the towel.
He will not seek re-election in the November 5 elections against former Republican President Donald Trump, considered a danger to democracy by millions of progressive voters.
“I’m just stunned and happy that the decision has finally been made and now the Democratic Party can get its act together and find a solution,” Barb Katz, a retired teacher who was visiting the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum – and its replica of the Oval Office – in Grand Rapids, Michigan, told AFP when the news appeared on mobile phones.
Both “sad” and “relieved,” her husband Seth, 61, regrets that Biden, who promised to be a transitional president, did not pass the torch “two years ago.”
For Tayaba Zahra, a lawyer interviewed in the New York neighborhood of Harlem, Biden’s performance during the televised debate on June 27 that opened the Democratic crisis “was a debacle.”
“I think he made the public very nervous about his entry into the presidential race as a competitor to Donald Trump, who is still an old man,” he explains, also at 78 years old.
“Chaotic Circus”
Following his historic announcement, Biden immediately endorsed his Vice President, Kamala Harris. Will the Democratic Party rally behind the former senator and former California attorney general?
“It’s just another stage in this chaotic circus,” says a resigned Seth Katz.
“We all have to line up and support her (Harris). And we can’t have any infighting. No fighting!” warns Mary Biggs, a 58-year-old New York teacher.
“I’m also stressed out because I don’t know if this country is ready to elect a black woman. But I think we need to get ready quickly.”
“I’m not sure how much confidence Democratic voters as a whole will have in Harris. But it makes sense, she’s their vice president,” says Leah, a 23-year-old video editor, in the middle of a baseball game in Washington, the federal capital.
Kevin Beard, a 50-year-old IT manager, does not hide his concern.
“I don’t think he (Biden) should have retired. I think he’s the best person to beat Donald Trump,” says this African-American on a street in Brooklyn, New York.
“On Election Day… independent voters, given the contrast between Trump and Biden… Biden would still win,” said Beard, who is skeptical about Harris’ chances of victory.
“In the Vice Presidency, his role has been diminished. He hasn’t really done anything.”
But he will certainly give his “total” support and will try to convince all his acquaintances “every day”.
“I live in New York, I grew up with Donald Trump. We know who he is, he is not a good person,” she says before expressing her fear that “this man is destroying” democracy.
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