The Washington Post predicts that by the end of the week Joe Biden will withdraw from the presidential race United States. The American daily cites its sources in Biden's closest circle. The politician has currently suspended his campaign and is isolating himself at home in Delaware due to coronavirus infection.
However, in the American media we hear more and more about intra-party pressure on Biden to drop out of re-election and replace the Democratic candidate. Biden himself, in a recent interview with ABC News, dismissed suggestions that he would resign.
At least officially, his staff also presents a similar position. – The president is the nominee of his party, he won 14 million votes in the primaries Democratic Party – Biden's campaign spokesman told the Washington Post. He added: – President Biden remains in the race for re-election, and that will not change until he wins.
Biden himself, just before he was diagnosed with coronavirus, gave an interview to the Spanish television station Unvision, in which he admitted that “has a good feeling” about his chances in the November election– All this talk about who is in the lead, where and how it is… So far, Trump and I have had basically equal opportunities – admitted the American leader.
The debate that started the avalanche
No matter how many interviews Biden gives and no matter how much he denies political reality, it is impossible to deny the fact that his campaign is on a terrible streak. It all started with the first presidential debate, where Biden was criticized for his performance.. The incumbent president was sluggish, absent, speaking incoherently and off-topic, confusing facts and getting lost in data. Trump, while throwing out accusations, not answering questions and attacking his rival ad personam, was energetic, easygoing and natural. The contrast with Biden was striking.
This attack has built him in the eyes of the masses as an extraordinary or even heroic figure. Trump's raised fist shortly after the shot, his cry of “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, emotions, support for him flowing from every side – this changes the entire campaign narrative
~ Prof. Tomasz Płudowski, Americanist from the University of Economics and Humanities in Warsaw
The debate caused Biden's polls to take a nosedive. It wasn't huge, but it couldn't have been in such a drastically polarized political scene as we are dealing with in America. However, the 2-3 percentage points that Biden lost in a few days did their job. Adding to this Trump's previous slight advantage, the incumbent president began to lose a dangerously large gap to his rival – about 4-6 percentage points, depending on the survey.. In addition, swing states began to lean toward Trump.
Biden's entourage tried to save the situation, to quiet the national debate about the president's health and his ability to serve another four years. The remedy for the massive criticism was supposed to be an interview on ABC News, in which Biden wanted to show himself as an energetic, intellectually alert and healthy politician. It didn't quite work out.. What got through to public opinion, however, was Biden's firm assurance that he would not withdraw from the presidential race. The Democratic politician is not only convinced that he can defeat Trump in November, but that only he can do it.
Biden's bad streak did not end with his conversation with an ABC News journalist. A few days later, the eyes of the entire world were turned to the NATO summit in Washington, where Biden was to prove that he was actually in some form. And once again it ended in a spectacular failure. The current occupant of the White House made a mistake during one of his speeches Volodymyr Zelensky z Vladimir Putinand during another his vice president Kamalę Harris called… Donald Trump.
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It is hardly surprising that a series of increasingly serious blunders and the increasing distance from Trump in the polls have sown serious doubts. Not only in the ranks of the Democratic Party, where more and more voices began to emerge about the need to replace Biden with someone else, but also, perhaps above all, from donors. Election campaigns in the United States are massive undertakings worth tens, or even hundreds, of millions of dollars, and no sponsor is willing to invest large sums in a project that seems doomed from the outset.
The prime example was Abigail Disney, heiress to the media magnate's fortune, who in early July, after the Trump-Biden debate, announced that she was withholding donations to the Democratic campaign until they named Biden. The millionaire reportedly assessed that the “stakes were too high” to take such a risk. Disney was not alone. Her voice of dissent emboldened other donors, who began to pressure Democrats, either behind the scenes or publicly, to replace their presidential candidate..
The straw that broke the camel's back (or will break the camel's back) may have been the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to analysts and campaign experts, this greatly increased his chances of winning in November. – This attack made him an above-average or even heroic figure in the eyes of the masses.. Trump's raised fist a moment after the shot, his cry of “Fight! Fight! Fight!”, emotions, support for him coming from every side – this changes the entire campaign narrative – he argued in an interview for Interia Prof. Tomasz Płudowski, Americanist from the University of Economics and Humanities in in Warsaw.
The Lights and Shadows of Kamala Harris
Today, Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race seems closer than ever, although it is still not a foregone conclusion. However, Biden seems to have fewer and fewer assets in his hands, while the list of arguments for his replacement is getting longer with each passing day..
Andrzej Kohut, author of the book “America. A House Divided” and co-creator of the podcast “Po Amerykańsku”, adds to the list of Biden's key problems that Even the American media, which has traditionally been considered pro-democracy, are moving away from him. – You can see that something clearly broke in the liberal camp after the debate – he assessed in an interview for Interia. – The anxiety that has long been gathering in a large part of public opinion has found an outlet. It will be very difficult for Biden to reverse this – added the Americanist.
It is clear that something clearly broke in the liberal camp after the debate – he assessed in an interview for Interia. – The anxiety that has long been gathering in a large part of public opinion has found an outlet. It will be very difficult for Biden to reverse this
~ Andrzej Kohut, Americanist, author of the book “America. A House Divided”, co-creator of the podcast “Po Amerykańsku”
The only thing that keeps Biden in the presidential race seems to be his well-known stubbornness and the support of his family. even the closest political allies like the former president Barack Obama whether former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi privately tried to persuade Biden to step down to another Democratic candidate.
Or the candidate. Because Kamala Harris has the best chance on the exchange of names. The vice president in the Biden administration gives the Democratic team several advantages that they have lacked so far – energy and younger age (Harris will not turn 60 until the fall), the possibility of reaching African-American and Latino voters who have started to flow to the Republicans, as well as greater mobilization of women. However, betting on Harris also means that Biden can keep his campaign funds, which would be very complicated and time-consuming, if not impossible, for procedural reasons in the case of another candidate.
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Harris' candidacy is not without flaws, however. – First, Harris is not a popular politician and she failed to improve that during her time as vice president. Her approval ratings often fell short of Biden's. – argued Americanist Andrzej Kohut in Interia. – Secondly, she is a key figure in the Biden administration, so she would not give the advantage of a new beginning and cutting off from what Biden and his administration were criticized for: “Bidenomics”, inflation or the migration crisis at the border. – our interlocutor continued. There is also a third reason, which is being discussed more and more loudly in America: whether the United States is ready for a woman in the White House.
Prof. Tomasz Płudowski in an interview with Interia drew attention to another very important thing when replacing the Democratic candidate – changing the campaign narrative. – I don't know if Harris would be able to do that either – he admitted. Why is this change so important? – So far, their campaign has been based on criticism of Trump. In a situation where there has just been an attack on him and he himself has been injured – albeit slightly, but still – further strong criticism is very risky. Criticizing the victim of an attack is often perceived as siding with the perpetrator and is considered very tactless – explained the scholar from the Academy of Economics and Humanities.