Biden Drops Out, Kamala’s Takeover, and the GOP’s Reaction
Welcome back to Politics Explained! If you’re new here, we post concise, non-partisan blogs every week to provide a source of unbiased news on US politics. The month of July and the lead up to the election continues to stay interesting as we saw Biden drop out of the race earlier this week. Other topics we’ll cover are Kamala Harris’ run for office, how the Trump campaign has responded to that, and Netanyahu’s recent visit to Capitol Hill. Let’s get started!
This past Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down from the race through a letter posted to his social media accounts. This comes after weeks of pressure from fellow democrats/allies, PACs, and other supporters for him to step away from the race for the good of the party and the country. President Biden had also contracted COVID and was quarantining at his beach house in Delaware. Although it seemed that Biden was showing defiance against the calls for him to end his bid for re-election, he ultimately gave in. A couple days later on Wednesday he addressed the nation from the Oval Office, focusing on his love for the country, what he plans to do with the remainder of his term, and the importance of “pass[ing] the torch to a new generation.”
Biden stepping down left a huge question as to who would take his place as the Democratic nominee. However, Kamala Harris and her team were quick in being the answer to that. Over the first 24 hours after she officially announced she was running for president, her campaign said they took in $81 million (the largest amount in that span of time in presidential history, according to the Harris team). Since then, it seems as if the Democratic party has been rejuvenated as an increasing amount are coming together to support Harris. In fact, Kamala has enough pledged support from delegates* to secure the nomination right now. However, her nomination is not official until the vote has been made, which is set to take place on August 1. Additionally, key figures in the party such as Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Former President Barack Obama, and, of course, President Joe Biden have rallied behind Harris through official endorsement. Polling also shows Harris closing the gap that Biden had against Trump, proving her as a real contender in the upcoming election. Along with this new prospect of Harris as the Democratic nominee comes with the question of who will be her Vice President. Currently, the list is generally down to Gov. of Kentucky Andy Beshear, Gov. of North Carolina Roy Cooper, Senator from Arizona Mark Kelly, Gov. of Illinois JB Pritzker, Gov. of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, Gov. of Minnesota Tim Walz, and a couple other possible candidates. Each has their own strengths and brings different things to the table. After weeks of major questioning over Biden’s ability to handle a second term, the Democratic party has found a newfound energy in Harris’ swiftness and “blitz” in securing the nomination.
Lastly, some quick updates:
Reaction to Kamala
In response to Kamala Harris’ campaigning, Trump seems to be backing away from a second debate. Although he had previously agreed to one, advisors of Trump said they would not commit to another debate.
Many members of the Republican Party have called the pressure on Biden to step down a “coup” and that it was not his own decision. Members have also called for a resignation from Biden, as they believe that if he can’t serve another term, he shouldn’t be the current President.
Other GOP Reps. and Senators suggested that it was a cover-up or that Biden had gone missing.
Benjamin Netanyahu visited Capitol Hill this week to address Congress and meet with Kamala Harris.
In his speech to Congress, Netanyahu called for US support, stating “our fight is your fight.” He also called for “total victory,” meaning a cease fire remains out of his sight.
In his discussion with VP Harris, Kamala called for a cease-fire and the end to the war. While offering the US’s support against terrorism, she also focused on the current suffering of the Palestinians due to the war.
*Definition of the Week (Delegates): Through their vote, delegates determine their party’s nominee. Each state, the District of Columbia, and some US territories are allocated a number of delegates, usually determined by population size. There are two main types of delegates: pledged delegates – who have to support the candidate to whom they were assigned in a primary or caucus, and unpledged or superdelegates – who can choose freely which candidate they would like to support.
