Adrian Beaumont update at 11:40am: I’ve done an article for The Conversation on Biden’s withdrawal. It’s too early to analyse polls of Harris vs Trump as Harris hasn’t been a presidential candidate until today. Economic data is improving, and Harris is much younger than Trump. But it’s a very risky move as Harris hasn’t been battle-tested in primaries, and failed in 2020. However, Democrats needed to take the risk as Biden’s age is of great concern and he’s already behind. US Senate polls have the Democrats doing well, implying Biden was a drag.
Joe Biden has announced his withdrawal from the presidential election race, “to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term”.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Discuss.
He’s done the right thing, for whatever reason.
He praises Kamala, but does not endorse her.
So perhaps there’ll be some sort of mini contest for the nomination . We’ll see.
He has endorsed Kamala…
It’s Joever
Hopefully Gretchen Whitmer or Josh Shapiro as VP pick for Kamala
Good Move
This is a big blow to the GOP as long as the Democrats unite behind Harris quickly.
I see media reports that he has endorsed Kamala, but where is this coming from? Not the tweet.
If journalists have gotten this wrong there’s going to be a whole lot of trouble for the Dems.
Edit. Oh I see. He endorsed her in a separate tweet. Well that settles it, I guess.
Similar to the Rudd/Gillard swap#1?
I think the gloss will be off Harris by November.
She is a gun grabber, has an annoying personality.
Good luck Kamala and the Dems. We need a strong alternative to Trump mania.
I’m not a huge fan of Kamala, but she’s probably the least worst option at this stage.
If only Biden had been allowed to go with his rumoured preferred V-P choice of Klobuchar. She’d have had a stronger chance against Trump now.
Klobuchar would be an ok V-P choice right now too: I reckon it simply has to be someone from the Mid-West and it needs to be a centrist. Whitmer is further to the left than Kamala and Amy. Her previously expressed views on immigration issues might be a problem for her.
Pritzker maybe, but he might have too strong a personality to make a good V-P choice. Ideally it needs to be someone reassuring to the public.
Buttigieg is from the Mid-West and definitely has the right personality . But we are told that many African-Americans and Latinos won’t vote for gays. This might not be the case, but perhaps now isn’t the right time to try to find out.
On the other hand, Pritzker for V-P would give us JD vs JB head to head. Which would be sort of neat.
There’s also Senator Mark Kelly from Arizona. Not the Mid-West but a swing state. He was an astronaut and his politician wife was almost killed by an assassin. So he rings a few bells.
I reinsert my earlier prediction that he’d withdraw from the race today. Good decision, putting the country above himself. The game is now on.
Kamala Harris and Josh Shapiro would be a great ticket. Mark Kelly or Roy Cooper are other options.
I think Pete Buttigieg is terrific, but then there’s the gay thing, which is a turnoff in some parts of America.
Trump would be favourite now, but Harris brings in the African American vote and suburban women too. And she has none of Hillary’s baggage.
[‘Trump reacts: In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the race, Trump described Biden as “the worst president by far in the history of our country.”]
It won’t come as a surprise that Trump has no class. History will
record who has been the worst president.
MSNBC live stream
https://www.youtube.com/live/bgdhFK0WTgw?si=jMApYUxIMABO-2ma
[‘Kamala Harris, unburdened by what has been, can finally see what can be.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” wrote President Joe Biden on X, shortly after announcing he would not run for reelection. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
With the departure of Biden, Harris is now the party’s presumptive nominee (although others may throw their hats in the ring) and this year’s presidential election has been turned upside down.
No longer will the nation be forced to participate in a re-run between two old men. The meaning of this race has shifted, and so have all of the previous assumptions about how it would end.
Should she win, Harris would be a history-making president: simultaneously the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first person of Asian descent, to hold the highest office in the land.’]
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/kamala-harris-joe-biden-2024-election-b2582832.html
No pressure on Harris whatsoever. I prefer Whitmer as her running mate but that won’t happen.
When Biden will stand down
C@tmomma – after mass on Sunday US time
Confessions – Monday morning US time
Mostly Interested – Monday night, prime time TV, US time
Nadia88 – < July 31
Mundo – he won’t
bc – when Netanyahu leaves Washington
Lars von Tried – 28 July
Sandman – he won’t
C@t is the winner.
I still think it’s going to be Buttigieg for VP.
Military Experience. Won election in a red state. Part of the Administration emphasising continuity and stability. Bonus of having already gone through the vetting process.
Biden will no doubt be upset for a time, but he will be viewed as a hero of sorts, and can now spend his twilight years free of the pressures of office. And who knows, he may surprise in his final
months in the WH.
Thank god Joe came to his senses. I see from media reporting that a number of Democrats are coalescing behind Harris, which is the best thing for the party IMO. An open primary just keeps the chaos and uncertainty going at a time when they need to start focusing on Trump.
Mavis says:
Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:04 am
Biden will no doubt be upset for a time, but he will be viewed as a hero of sorts, and can now spend his twilight years free of the pressures of office. And who knows, he may surprise in his final
months in the WH.
________
I am hopeful for the latter. Go down swinging! Can Biden top Obamacare?
Trump is now officially the oldest presidential nominee
Biden’s withdrawal officially makes former President Trump, who turned 78 in June, the oldest presidential nominee of a major party.
That record once belonged to Ronald Reagan, who was 73 when he ran for reelection in 1984. Bob Dole was 73, just a few months younger, when he accepted the Republican nomination in 1996.
Both Trump and Biden set the record for oldest sitting president during their terms — Trump was 70 when he was sworn in in 2017, and Biden was 78 when he took office in 2021. And both of them would have broken their own record if reelected this year.
Now that Biden, 81, is out of the running, the title of oldest nominee falls to Trump. His running mate, J.D. Vance, turns 40 in August and would be one of the youngest vice presidents in history if their ticket is elected.
Vice President Harris, whom Biden has endorsed, is 59 years old, turning 60 in October. The median age for presidents on their first inauguration day is 55, according to the Pew Research Center.’] – NPR
I’m sure the Democrats won’t take advantage of the fact that Trump is Old! White! And a man!
Scott 1: “I still think it’s going to be Buttigieg for VP…Won election in a red state.”
You mean won election in a red state as the mayor of a city smaller than Hobart, after failing at a bid for State politics.
Buttigieg has several strengths, but I don’t think his political career is one of them.
With Biden’s withdrawal the media focus will switch to the Democrats – and take the wind out of Trump’s media campaign.
Also, Trump’s claims that Biden should stand down now is easily refuted – by pointing out who is clearly unfit for office.
Griff:
Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:07 am
Mavis says:
Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:04 am
Biden will no doubt be upset for a time, but he will be viewed as a hero of sorts, and can now spend his twilight years free of the pressures of office. And who knows, he may surprise in his final
months in the WH.
________
[‘I am hopeful for the latter. Go down swinging! Can Biden top Obamacare?’]
Free of the shackles of running & the constraints of a GOP
majority in the House, who knows?
Aunty’s doing a Biden retrospect, even bringing up the time he
was accused of plagiarism.
Mavis (quoting the Independent): “Should she win, Harris would be a history-making president: simultaneously the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first person of Asian descent, to hold the highest office in the land.”
They forgot to mention that she would also be the first woman of Irish-Jamaican descent. Kamala would be a terrific guest on Who Do You Think You Are?
Americans are obsessed with non-white people’s ethnic origins to a ludicrous degree. I know it’s a legacy of their collective failure to come to terms with the legacy of slavery, but I think it’s demeaning to Kamala for the media to bang on and on about her ethnic background.
BTW, here’s a frivolous interpretation of Kamala’s background. If elected, she’ll be the first British colonial ruler of America since 1776. We have to face facts: both of her parents came from British Commonwealth countries and she was raised in Montreal. I’m sure that, in her heart, she’s a loyal subject of His Majesty.
CBS reporting of Biden’s withdrawal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soZfHKGjSLc
Apparently Trump once donated to Harris’s AG campaign.
This is literally a game changer. The rules are being rewritten.
Awkward. Admittedly this came out before Harris was elected VP.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-harris-campaign-donations/2020/08/12/06eb1f0e-dcdb-11ea-b205-ff838e15a9a6_story.html
Statement from Obama.
Gee, Obama very much hasn’t endorsed Harris. That’s not especially helpful right now.
Well done, C@t.
Unfortunately, Willow has been robbed of a second term; Kamala Harris seems to be a dog person.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow_(cat)
Confessions @ #32 Monday, July 22nd, 2024 – 6:33 am
Reminds the MAGA cultists that their leader used to be a Democrat. Got to have some effect at the margins
Pete Buttigieg has been 100% loyal to Biden all along, and he actually did a fundraising event with Kamala Harris on the weekend. He is a veteran, he is sharp on his feet, he is probably the best communicator in the Democratic Party at present.
The minus of course is the gay thing, maybe Harris might opt for the safer VP choice of a straight, married Midwest governor, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
meher:
Pelosi hasn’t explicitly endorsed Harris either. Meanwhile the endorsements from sitting Democrats and groups aligned with the DNC continue to come in for Harris.
meher baba:
Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:26 am
[‘They forgot to mention that she would also be the first woman of Irish-Jamaican descent. Kamala would be a terrific guest on Who Do You Think You Are?’]
Harris certainly has eclectic personal antecedents. Trump will need to tread wearily for fear of offending those who share a part of her ethnicity. He was no doubt measuring the curtains but now faces a formidable foe. And I bet he’s spitting chips.
Hopefully Gretchen Whitmer or Josh Shapiro as VP pick for Kamala
Gretchen Whitmer has reportedly ruled herself out of being Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Even though I wish it wasn’t the case. Whitmer and Harris with a all women ticket maybe viewed too much too soon for voters from Democrat strategists. It’s why Hilary Clinton didn’t select Elizabeth Warren as running mate when she ran for President in 2016. I know Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper are being considered.
Confessions: “Pelosi hasn’t explicitly endorsed Harris either. Meanwhile the endorsements from sitting Democrats and groups aligned with the DNC continue to come in for Harris.”
———————————————————————————-
I would have thought that, ideally, Pelosi and Obama should get behind Harris too. Apart from avoiding the potential for a chaotic fight within the Democrats, it also helps to reduce the potential for mischief on the part of the Republicans.
I think Mike Johnson has sent a clear message that the Republicans intend to encourage state officials to create roadblocks for getting any name other than Biden’s onto the ballot. I think this strategy will be more of a goer if someone other than Harris becomes the candidate.
There has to be a better way of discussing the effect gender might have on popularity and capacity to attract votes than ‘the gay thing’.
Victoria, your long-standing prediction that Biden will beat Trump cannot now be refuted. I hope you start posting again.
Kamala Harris: a Black woman, the most unviable combination in American politics. She has not a snowball’s chance in Hell.
The least bad VP pick is Mark Kelly. A moderate, white male senator from a traditionally conservative state.
As it is, 400 EVs or more for Trump. Who may well win the popular vote by double digits.
She’s come out swinging!
And btw where is C@t?
Oops just noticed that is from 2019.
MelbourneMammoth:
Monday, July 22, 2024 at 6:58 am
[‘Kamala Harris: a Black woman, the most unviable combination in American politics. She has not a snowball’s chance in Hell.’]
Well, more correctly a woman of colour but you don’t do nuance.
Mavis: She is a woman of color yes, but in the US even a person with one sixteenth African ancestry is officially considered Black. And she is Black-identifying and went to a Black university.
More to the point, you are not disagreeing with my election prediction. The Democrats are doing nothing to even save the furniture.
Except that Biden wasn’t actually the official nominee. So replacing him with anyone, whether it be Harris or someone else isn’t illegal.
Oh Dear.
Major major issue in states is immigration both illegal and legal.
Harris is all in on both.Trump if you listen closely is rubbing his hands in glee.
Dumped a winner.
Aussie companies have a couple of months to get deals done in the rare earths space as trump will dump Biden green scheme asap.