The long-awaited first presidential debate for the November elections passed in U.S and the consequences are not good for the president Joe Biden.
The main objective Biden in Thursday’s presidential debate before former President donald trump was to alleviate concerns about his age. However, the debate deepened them.
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Among the reactions, commentators from various media outlets said they had received text messages from some Democratic politicians in which they expressed the hope that Biden, 81, would take a backseat in the presidential race.
Some have reportedly raised the possibility of going to the White House and publicly expressing their concerns about Biden remaining as a candidate.
This Friday, in an attempt to dispel doubts, Biden held a rally in North Carolina where he appeared with more energy than the previous night and insisted that he intends to “win this election”.
Could Biden back down now? What would happen?
Can Joe Biden retire?
The Democratic Party candidate will be officially elected at the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Chicago from August 19th to 22nd.
There, the candidate must obtain the support of the majority of “delegates” (party representatives in charge of formally electing the candidate).
According to the results of the primary elections in each state, delegates are allocated proportionally to the candidates.
This year, Biden won about 99% of the nearly 4,000 delegates.
Under Democratic National Committee rules, these delegates are “pledged” to him and are required to support his nomination.
But if Biden were to withdraw, there would likely be a pitched battle. There is no official mechanism for him, or anyone else in the party, to choose his successor, meaning Democrats would be left with an open convention.
Presumably, Biden would have some influence over his pledged delegates, but ultimately they would be free to do whatever they wanted when it came to supporting a replacement.
That could trigger a frantic race among Democrats seeking a shot at the nomination.
It is worth adding that Biden has so far given no indication that he is considering stepping aside.
Could he be forced to abandon his candidacy?
This is an even less viable scenario..
In the modern political era, a major party has never attempted a hostile takeover of the nomination and there is no evidence of any serious plans to try to do so now.
However, the Democratic National Committee’s regulations have some small loopholes that could, in theory, make Biden’s eventual expulsion from the White House race possible.
The rules allow delegates to “safely reflect the sentiments of those who elected them,” meaning they could turn to someone else if Democratic voters across the country turn against Biden in large numbers.
Could Kamala Harris replace Biden?
US Vice President Kamala Harris would automatically take Biden’s place if he were to resign during his presidential term.
But the same rules do not apply if Biden withdraws as a candidate in the November election, and there is no mechanism that would give the vice president an advantage in an open convention.
Instead of, Harris would have to win a majority of delegates, like any other candidate.
Since she is already on the Democratic ticket, Harris could certainly be the front-runner. But her relatively low popularity among the American population may overshadow this advantage.
His net disapproval rating is currently lower than that of Biden and Donald Trump, according to polls published by the organization FiveThirtyEight.
Who else could take Biden’s place?
Several Democrats have attempted to challenge Biden this election cycle, including Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and writer Marianne Williamson.
But both were risky attempts and neither is likely to top any “finalist” list.
There is speculation that California Governor Gavin Newsom or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer could be replacements.
But none of the candidates showed interest in replacing Biden.
“I will never turn my back on President Biden,” Newsom said Thursday in the Atlanta debate hall.
“I spent a lot of time with him and I know what he has achieved in the last three and a half years. I know what he is capable of and I know his vision and I have no worries”, he stressed.
Oblivious to the rumors and behind-the-scenes conversations, Biden participated this Friday in a rally in North Carolina where he showed no signs of being willing to abandon the race.
“I intend to win this election”, exclaimed Biden, trying to silence the noise generated by his questioned intervention in the debate.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
