With Biden Suspending His Campaign Three Months Before the Election, Just How Will Democrats Beat Trump's Reignited Momentum?
Article Written by Jett James Pruitt
There is no doubt, the last few days in U.S. politics will be remembered as one of the most consequential weeks in American history.
Addressing a crowd of supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, former President Donald Trump spoke for approximately six minutes before gun shots rang out and a bullet pierced his right ear. He quickly descended to the ground as U.S. Secret Service agents rushed to the podium and formed a human barricade against additional gunfire.
In a matter of seconds, the counter sniper team neutralized the shooter, now identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. One minute later, Secret Service agents carefully escorted the former President offstage, with Trump pumping his fist and mouthing the word “fight” three times — prompting a roaring applause from rally attendees.
Aside from the injury to his ear, Trump was otherwise unharmed and departed the Butler Memorial Hospital within a few hours. Tragically, retired fire department chief, Corey Comperatore, lost his life while trying to protect his family from the rain of bullets. Two other Trump rally attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were critically wounded and are currently receiving medical attention.
Following the assassination attempt, national leaders from across the political spectrum offered their support to Trump, with incumbent President Joe Biden holding three successive national addresses to condemn the attack and call for national unity.
This event alone would have stayed in the news cycle for several weeks. But within the span of a mere eight days, the nation also witnessed a political novice born into the most impoverished pockets of Appalachia ascend to become the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, and world-famous wrestler Hulk Hogan don a TRUMP-VANCE tee-shirt and plea to millions of viewers: “Let Trump-a-mania run wild, brother.”
Then — as if political news could not be more unpredictable — President Biden announced his decision to suspend his reelection campaign on Sunday, July 21, thereby throwing the Democratic Party into complete chaos as they now prepare for an open convention in Chicago starting August 19.
As most Americans know, Biden faced immense scrutiny from both lawmakers and the general public following his poor performance in a June 27 debate against Trump.
Just prior to his decision to decline the Democratic nomination, ABC News found that 61 percent of Americans believed Biden should have ended his campaign, with only 34 percent of registered voters saying they would feel satisfied with Biden as a 2024 presidential nominee.
Moreover, a total of 36 Democratic lawmakers publicly called for Biden to step aside, with many more privately expressing their reservations to the President.
Of course, some figures remained steadfast in their loyalty to President Biden, with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and John Fetterman (D-PA) explicitly stating they wanted him to the stay in the race. Regardless, the pressure on Biden was mounting, and he ultimately concluded that the party infighting would eviscerate the DNC's chances at winning the 2024 Presidential Election.
In a letter posted on social media, Biden told the American people: “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term. I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”
He went on to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for “being an extraordinary partner” and then expressed his “heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me."
Shortly after this bombshell announcement, Biden threw his support behind Harris, declaring “I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
At this time, Harris is the clear favorite to win the nomination. Out of 263 congressional Democrats and 23 Democratic governors, more than 175 publicly endorsed the Vice President within a span of 24 hours.
Furthermore, Harris quickly gained the unanimous support of the Florida, Louisiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and South Carolina delegations, thereby giving her 531 of the 1,986 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
In a surprising turn of events, many high-profile Democrats who were instantly considered viable contenders have fully endorsed the Harris campaign, including Governors Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, and Andy Beshear. Even West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin ultimately decided not to rejoin the Democratic Party to compete for the Oval Office.
Under this framework, it appears that Harris is on her way to be the party’s presidential nominee.
On August 1, delegates are expected to conduct a virtual roll call to formally nominate its presidential candidate. If Harris is able to reach the threshold of 1,986 delegates, the party will essentially have its candidate before the convention begins on August 19.
However, if the virtual roll call does not occur at that time or Harris falls short of the provided threshold, the Democratic Party will face an open convention, in which there is initially no set nominee. If this were to occur, a plethora of candidates would work to gain the support of delegates.
The last open convention in a presidential election occurred in 1968, in which the Democratic Party ultimately nominated Vice President Hubert Humphrey amid immense political tumult.
In light of the fluidity of recent events, many names are being circulated for Harris’ potential running-mate. As of this writing, the list includes North Carolina Governor, Roy Cooper; California Governor, Gavin Newsom; Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer; Kentucky Governor, Andy Beshear; Illinois Governor, J.B. Pritzker; Arizona Senator, Mark Kelly; and Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.
Overall, it appears the party is quickly realigning despite concerns of infighting over Biden’s withdrawal. Harris is on track to become the second woman nominated by one of the two major two political parties in American history, as well as the first African-American woman.
Just as the Republican Party remained defiantly united following the assassination attempt of Trump, the Democratic Party appears to remain solidly supportive of the current administration.
Just how will this affect voter enthusiasm come November? It's too early to tell. But the next few weeks will give us a good sense of where our country is heading.
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Jett James Pruitt is a Native American, Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of the bestselling book THROUGH THE EYES OF A YOUNG AMERICAN. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of TheGenZPost.com, and a political strategist specializing in Generation Z voter trends. His next book, THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE: What America's Political Parties Must Do To Win Over Generation Z, is due in major bookstores worldwide later this year.
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