So it’s official: President Biden dropped the election race, and his plans to run for a second term automatically. And when it comes to his, well, long-awaited and expected decision, Republicans seem to have gotten a tad greedy.
What do I mean by that? Now, his dropping out of the race isn’t enough: they also want him to resign. As far as we can tell, the goal is simply to embarrass Biden, weaken the Democratic Party, and help give former President Donald Trump another advantage in the race.
However, the GOP strategy could do just the opposite of that. The call for Biden to step down also includes some of the top Republicans on the Hill. As Speaker Mike Johnson said, “if Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He needs to resign the office right away. November 5 can’t arrive soon enough.”
GOP Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa also stated that if he’s not fit enough to campaign, he’s also not capable of holding the nuclear codes. So we can’t help but wonder what’s the potential fallout from the Republicans’ pressure campaign.
A change in scenario
First of all, Republicans have made an arbitrary standard of coupling serving in office with campaigning. However, in reality, these are totally different functions. First of all, serving as a president doesn’t automatically have to include a rigorous, nationwide travel schedule effectively required for a national campaign.
Besides, there’s nothing beyond custom that would require someone who is eligible for another term to search for one. Republicans also set a precedent that might haunt them later on. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, has had plenty, of very public, elderly moments.
Naturally, he won’t run for reelection in 2026 due to his age, so would this mean that he should resign early? Moreover, Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is 90 years old, so would this mean that he should also resign if he’s not campaigning in 2028?
Coming back to now, trying to keep the attention on Biden’s age and faculties could seem like a good idea and even benefit Republicans by owning the Democrats. However, it could also hurt the GOP’s efforts to win this year’s big prize.
Time can tell, but it’s possible Republicans already hurt themselves by harping on Biden’s age and forcing Democrats’ weakest candidate from the race. Now the Democrats are going with Vice President Kamala Harris who, at least, managed to energize the party base beyond anything Biden was even capable of doing. Pushing Biden out of office could totally hurt the Republicans.
The hate will go on
All in all, one thing’s for sure: Trump’s core supporters who think Biden is a horrific president would likely think the same about a new President Harris. However, it’s not an unreasonable argument to another type of voters, who are more soft and independent, and who are likely to vote for Harris. In other words, moderate voters are less likely to fire someone who just got the job.
There’s another possibility: Harris becomes president after Biden resigns and utterly fails, and in a short amount of time. She might fumble crisis or even get pinned with current issues that would plague any resident of the Oval Office, even if those issues aren’t the direct result of her actions.
Why did Biden drop out
President Biden has recently decided to end his reelection bid. This decision came after the Democrats started to pressure him to drop out. Even if the President firmly declared there was nothing short of a higher power that might get him to change his mind about running again.
Ultimately, he caved, especially after hearing from congressional leadership, who implored him to drop out or risk losing both chambers of Congress in November. “In the most recent weeks it has become quite clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor” he added.
“Nothing should come in the way of saving our democracy, which also includes personal ambition.” Then, he was joined in the Oval Office by First Lady Jill Biden, his children, their spouses and children, and some of his longtime political advisers along with other White House staff.
Biden decided to throw his support behind Vice President Harris, who Democrats repeatedly stated she revitalized their energy. She also has the potential to boost their chances of beating former President Trump. Harris also watched Biden’s speech from Houston, Texas, according to some reporters who were traveling with her.
In another letter posted to social media the same week, Biden declared he would drop the bid. It came right after reports suggested that some of the highest-profile Democrats, including former President Obama and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to convince him that his chances of winning against Republican Trump are dissipating.
The calls for him to drop out of the race followed after a poor debate performance in late June, during which President Biden, 81, struggled to finish his thoughts and spoke in a low and raspy voice.
He also spent three weeks insisting he was staying in the race and wanted to continue campaigning until he dropped out. The president in his address made a plea for preserving democracy, which was a recurrent theme in his administration, especially after he beat Trump in 2020.
He also used the words of Benjamin Franklin that are hanging in his office, describing how the founders of America “a Republic, if you can keep it.” “The idea of America is in our hands,” Biden concluded.
The president then proceeded to outline his plans until he leaves office in January, which also include ending the genocide in Gaza, Supreme Court reform, and continuing to work for reproductive rights and his Cancer Moonshot initiative.
Biden didn’t hold back from praising Harris, calling her “experienced”, “tough” and “capable.” However, he never mentioned Trump by name. On top of that, he expressed gratitude for the 50 years he served in government.
Playing politics
Republicans’ wish for Biden’s resignation added plenty of turmoil to American politics following Biden’s announcement that have left the path forward for Democrats quite uncertain. They are “playing politics.”
As Biden stepped aside, the national attention is now on the Democratic Party again, and they would do well to put his attention to good use. “They should showcase their talent, advertise their vision for the future, and do their best to change the entire narrative of this presidential campaign.” as William Howell, a Sydney Stein professor in American politics at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
Well, that’s quite a difficult task amid their opponent pushing a message of Democrats in complete disarray. Biden also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic presidential nominee.
For now, Trump holds 49% support among registered voters all over the world, while Harris 46%. Still, that’s a closer contest than the numbers we had on the matchup between Biden and Trump. The survey also found that voters are widely supportive of both Biden’s decision to step aside and his choice to be in office through the end of his term.
Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters are quite enthusiastic about Harris, and also willing to coalesce around her as the new presumptive nominee.
What about other Presidents who decided to resign? If you want to remember the old days, here’s an audiobook with President Richard M. Nixon’s resignation speech. Remember it? Refresh your memory!
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