By completing his bid for a second term, President Biden has done what Donald Trump never could: He put the good of the country above his own personal ambitions. Biden has shown Americans what true patriotism looks like.
Biden’s selfless act left Republicans so baffled, they reacted like a kid at a birthday party who had their piñata taken away from them. Trump, who enjoys kicking the crap out of people who are down,AngryBiden is the worst president in American history.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) also fell prey to partisan hacking, absurdly insisting that Biden should resign immediately.Ridiculous conspiracy theoriesThe claims have been widespread in MAGA world, including the allegation that the “deep state” orchestrated Biden’s removal from the race.
Republicans have invested so much in defeating Biden that they are furious that his departure would deprive them of their priority goal and reset the presidential election.
Trailing in the polls and hurt by a shaky performance in the June 27 debate, Biden reluctantly acknowledged that public anxiety about his age and declining abilities was hurting his reelection chances and boosting Trump’s.
Trump’s last-minute resignation, less than a month before the Democratic nominating convention opens in Chicago, resolves that problem, but leaves Democrats with little time to test a stellar roster of potential successors, including Vice President Kamala Harris, and choose the one best likely to beat Trump.
Rather than risk an open convention, Democrats are flocking to Biden-endorsed Harris. She has reportedly alreadySupport was strengthenedThat’s a majority of Biden’s roughly 4,000 delegates attending the convention.
Harris brings some important assets to the list of candidates: she is relatively young (59 years old);Enthusiastic black supportShe has connected better with younger voters than Biden, has appealed to suburban women and has been an effective liaison to the White House on abortion, a major weakness for the Republican Party.
Harris makes Trump look like a mentally debilitated old man on the campaign trail, with his endless meandering antics.Acceptance speechIn Milwaukee.
But Harris also has someA difficult challengeLike Biden, her approval rating islowAnd the vice president’s core political beliefs and philosophy remain shrouded in mystery.
In her sporadic campaign for the 2020 nomination, Harris has garnered support from progressive activists, distanced herself from her record as a prosecutor, attacked Biden from the left and made her ownhealth careposition.
Her public image is that of a quintessential liberal Democrat from ultra-progressive California, so it’s fair to ask: can Harris help the Democratic Party?Collecting floating votesWhat about in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin?Previously, he supported a ban on fracking.That would be unacceptable in Pennsylvania, a state rich in shale resources.
HarrisLikely to be inheritedBiden has $240 million in the campaign fund, but as the incumbent vice president she will need to fend off Republican attempts to turn the race into a referendum on her record, rather than Trump’s.
A win for Ms Harris would be a welcome vindication for Mr Biden, while a loss for her would tarnish his political legacy and leave Democrats asking why he didn’t withdraw from the race sooner and instead take the time to engage in a vigorous primary campaign.
In 2020, Biden described himself asA bridge to a new generationDemocratic leadership. Many Democrats (including me) have concluded that his goal is to oust Trump after one term and make way for a younger leader.
That would have paved the way for the generational change that Washington’s gerontocracy urgently needs today. Fortunately, the party is rich in talent, especially governors who are among the best candidates for president.
Rising stars include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. Though only in their first terms, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Maryland Governor Wes Moore have also drawn rave reviews.
Biden’s Cabinet includes Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, a former governor of Rhode Island, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. In the Senate, former astronaut Mark Kelly of Arizona isHot Topic.
All of these names are currently in contention for the vice presidential spot, but Democrats would be in a better position now if these people and others had been given the opportunity to join the 2024 nomination race.
Democrats need new faces and new ideas to win back working-class Americans. They can’t keep losing non-college-educated voters, who make up roughly two-thirds of the electorate in November’s election.
Basic math tells us that if Democrats want to rebuild their competitiveness outside cities and build a durable governing majority, they must grow support among working-class voters, not just whites but also blacks and especially Hispanics, who have recently warmed to Trump and his party.
Unfortunately, this is a path the Biden administration has not taken, instead forming an alliance with the progressive left in 2021. Can Harris now rise to the challenges of the working class?
“As the Trump Republican Party bets on expanding its outreach to the working class, Harris will rely on more educated, upper-class voters,” Harris said.William Galston“She will have considerable appeal to black voters (especially women) and white liberals, but her prospects for reversing declining Democratic support among Hispanics are uncertain at best,” said John Trump of the Brookings Institution.
Either way, Democrats have a President Biden to thank: During the dark days of 2020, when they needed an experienced national leader to unite the Democratic Party and the country against the political destructiveness of President Trump, the veteran from Delaware stepped up.
That can never be taken away from Joe Biden, no matter what happens in November.
Will Marshall is president and founder of the Progressive Policy Institute.
