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Joe Biden ends re-election campaign, endorses Kamala Harris for 2024 Presidential Race
US President Joe Biden has ended his re-election campaign, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate. In a written statement, Biden said his withdrawal was “in the best interest of my party and the country.” Harris vowed to unite the country and defeat Donald Trump.
In a surprising and dramatic turn of events, US President Joe Biden has announced the end of his re-election campaign, endorsing Vice-President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate. The announcement came in a written statement on Sunday, with Mr Biden, 81, stating that his withdrawal was “in the best interest of my party and the country.”
Mr Biden’s decision follows his contentious debate performance against Donald Trump on 27 June, which raised questions about his fitness for a second term. Despite this, Mr Biden assured that he will continue to serve as president until January. He described serving as president as the “greatest honour” and emphasized the importance of his decision for the nation’s well-being.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Ms Harris, 59, expressed her gratitude for the endorsement, pledging to “earn and win this nomination” and to unite the country against Trump. “We have 107 days until election day,” she declared. “Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”
Despite accumulating endorsements from numerous prominent figures within the party, Ms Harris has not yet been officially nominated. The formal nomination may not occur until the Democratic National Convention in August.
On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country.
I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 21, 2024
Meanwhile, Donald Trump has gained momentum in the polls and was confirmed as the Republican nominee at the party’s convention in Milwaukee this week, just days after surviving an assassination attempt.
In response to Mr Biden’s decision, Trump asserted that the president “was not fit to run… and is certainly not fit to serve.” Other senior Republicans echoed this sentiment, calling for Mr Biden to leave the White House immediately.
Democratic Party Unites Behind Harris
According to sources, even senior White House staff and campaign officials were informed of Mr Biden’s decision only moments before the public announcement. However, Mr Biden had previously spoken to Ms Harris and a select few others.
Following the announcement, senior Democrats, including former president Barack Obama, Senate leader Chuck Schumer, and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, praised Mr Biden’s decision and his accomplishments in office. Former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton voiced their support for Harris, pledging to “fight with everything we’ve got to elect her.”
While Mr Obama expressed “extraordinary confidence” in the emergence of an “outstanding nominee,” he did not explicitly endorse Ms Harris or any other candidate. Ms Pelosi has yet to comment on the endorsement.
Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to call on Biden to end his re-election campaign, advocated for an “open process” to nominate Harris. Nonetheless, many in the party appear ready to unite behind her, including high-profile politicians previously seen as potential rivals.
The Democratic National Committee has already taken steps to amend the names of its fundraising committees to the Harris Victory Fund and Harris Action Fund. Prominent Democratic donors, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and investor Alexander Soros, publicly endorsed Harris.
Within an hour of Mr Biden’s announcement, the pro-Trump super-PAC Make America Great Again released an advertisement attacking Ms Harris, alleging she “covered up Joe’s obvious mental decline.”
Trump added, “Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same.”
Weeks of Intense Scrutiny
Mr Biden faced intense scrutiny following his June debate performance. A high-profile summit with NATO leaders in Washington did little to alleviate concerns, as he mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin” and addressed Ms Harris as “Vice President Trump.”
In his statement on Sunday, Mr Biden expressed heartfelt appreciation for Ms Harris and the American people. “I believe today and always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”
The Democratic National Committee held an emergency meeting on Sunday evening. Attention now shifts to the party’s national convention, set to begin on 19 August. Delegates who were pledged to vote for Mr Biden are now expected to be released to vote for another candidate.
The upcoming months will be crucial as the Democratic Party rallies behind Ms Harris and prepares for a contentious election against a resurgent Trump.
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Here with have it. The party of “democracy” defending “democracy” by forcing the candidate chosen by 81 million votes in 2020 (Let’s assume they are real votes) and by millions of democrats in the primary elections to step aside and allow another candidate to be chosen by unelected party elites. So much for “democracy.” Do you know what all communist and socialist governments have in common? They all came to power by championing “democracy” and “humanism.” North Korea is technically a democracy, but you can only vote for Kim Jong-un. I’m guessing that’s the kind of “democracy” that the Democratic… Read more »
I believe key Democrats knew of Biden’s mental impairment all along but were perhaps unable to persuade Biden to quit the race. I don’t believe Biden’s mental degradation is a sudden occurence. It would take months if not years to manifest. Many of us would have observed Biden’s slow descent to “mental hell”. Just ask ourselves why he was shielded from full press conferences and he had cue cards to guide him when he met the press. The debate was thus set up whereby Biden’s mental situation would be exposed for the world to see. And we all now can… Read more »
Trump will win. The reason simply because USA is still a male chauvinist country. Last time everyone saw Democrat Hillary Clinton can win but she flip flopped in the last minute and got defeated by Republican Donald Trump. Now Democrat sends in Kamala Harris. She will still follow the Hillary’s footstep. Afterall, Trump as a President last time is not too bad at all. At least the world is more peaceful. And he insisted to bring all the jobs back to all Americans. He also ordered to build a high wall along the southern border to stop illegals entering the… Read more »
Whether it is Kamlan Harris or Trumpf, the US is fooked.
Well done Democrats! Gavin Newsom next VP?
Some people want a 1st woman POTUS.
But the same people can’t even define correctly what a woman is!
This is truly cognitive dissonance!
ALAMAK is not a president material.
May the best man wins.
I am okay as long as they do not support Hamas like ICJ.
While nothing is concrete, does one really expect Harris to defeat Trump?
Let’s put it this way, Trump has a second chance partly because Biden didn’t do well during his term either, why would someone endorsed by Biden be supported by Americans?
Well the three bodies always win. No?!! Finish spawning their scapegoats. Now waiting to turn it black by anyhow accuse ppl of shit. Then all becomes black while the Lee, Mrs Lee and Yang are always white. Or their three entities remain white while purging the rest they claim black …
The Black white game they keep playing.
Very interesting.
So much more exciting than stale, repeats, pseudo ones in SG. Almost one can say, fakest waste of money elections in SG.
Well SG tax payers don’t protest openly what they can enjoy every few years – what do you think Teo CH?