Pressure grows among Democrats to replace Biden after debate with Trump

The debate between Joe Biden and his opponent Donald Trump on Thursday (27) confirmed Democrats’ fears about the president’s performance. Several senators from the party are already pushing for the choice of a new name for the electoral dispute, which takes place in November.

Even though he won the Democratic primaries earlier this year, Biden has not yet been officially chosen as the party’s presidential candidate, which paves the way for another candidate to be chosen. The party’s official approval takes place at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, between August 19 and 22. At that time, candidates need to win the majority of delegates.

The process for choosing a new candidate to replace Biden, however, is not easy. An exchange like this has never happened before in the Democratic Party, it involves issues of delegates won in the primaries and, mainly, the president would have to withdraw from the dispute on his own. This Friday (28), he reiterated that “he intends to win this election”.

At a rally in North Carolina, Biden hinted that he would continue in the race. He said he would win the election, and his campaign manager said he would not give up. Biden’s campaign has yet to officially comment on the series of editorials in the mainstream American press calling for his withdrawal.

Names considered to replace Biden

Kamala Harris

Joe Biden’s current vice president, Kamala Harris, would not automatically become the Democratic nominee for 2024 if Biden decides to step down as president. But that still makes Harris the obvious choice. The Democrat could be favored by already being in the current administration and on the Democratic ticket, which could be seen as a natural continuation of Biden’s term. However, her performance during the administration has been criticized for its lack of prominence and relatively low popularity.

Gavin Newsom

The governor of California, the richest state in the USA, is one of the main names being considered to replace Biden in the Democratic campaign. Last year, Newsom, 56, rose to prominence after a televised debate with Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis. The governor’s show of support for Democrats in elections outside his state was also interpreted as a parallel campaign in the White House. Newsom, however, dismissed concerns about Biden’s candidacy and stated that he “will not betray the president of the United States.”

Gretchen Whitmer

Current governor of the state of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, aged 52, has already passed through the Michigan House of Representatives and Senate, before assuming leadership of the state since 2019. The state is considered a “Swing State”, that is, it has possibility of leaning towards the Republican or Democratic side in the November vote. Whitmer was also on the list of candidates to be Biden’s vice president in the 2020 election and performed well in the Democratic Party vote.

J. B. Pritzker

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has gained prominence during his term, which could draw the attention of Democrats when choosing a replacement. The 59-year-old politician can use the regulation of the right to abortion that he carried out in the state to his advantage. Illinois has invested more than $23 million in expanding access to the procedure and reproductive health since 2022. Pritzker has previously declared the state a “sanctuary” for women seeking termination of pregnancy.

Dean Phillips

Dean Phillips, 55, is a Minnesota state representative. Phillips ran in the Democratic primary earlier this year but did not perform well in the race. At the time, Phillips said, “Biden was a good man, but he would not be able to defeat former President Donald Trump in a general election race.”

Sherrod Brown

Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is a prominent advocate for issues involving labor rights and protections, and has spoken out in support of in vitro fertilization and abortion rights. At 71, Brown would be the oldest man among the Democrats’ choices, but he would still be 7 years younger than Republican Donald Trump.

Heavyweight editorials on alert

In editorials published on Friday night (28), the newspapers “The New York Times”, “The Wall Street Journal” and “Financial Times” and the magazine “The Economist” called on the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to give up running for re-election. The publications express concerns about the threats to democracy that could arise with a possible new term for Donald Trump and claim that Biden would not be able to defeat his opponent. Both are running for president in this year’s elections, scheduled for November 5.

Editorial do “The New York Times”

The New York Times said that Biden appeared in the debate “in the shadow of a great public servant” and “an admirable president he once was.” The newspaper noted that Biden had difficulty finishing sentences and said that he is “no longer the man he was four years ago,” when he defeated Trump. It argued that another Democratic candidate capable of defeating Trump, “a danger to American democracy,” is needed.

“In Thursday’s debate, the president needed to convince the American public that he was up to the enormous demands of the position he intends to hold for another term. However, voters cannot be expected to ignore what was evident: Biden is not the man he was four years ago”, says the editorial.

“The Wall Street Journal” e “The Economist”

In an editorial, The Wall Street Journal states that the president is “clearly not ready for another four years” in power. The newspaper calls on the Democratic Party to convince Biden to drop his candidacy: “You know Trump is counting on Democrats to stick with Biden, but the country deserves a better choice.”

“An inevitable question is why those closest to Biden let him run again. We and many others warned them. It was clearly a selfish act on his part to seek a second term. But did they really think they could hide their decline from the public for an entire election campaign?”, writes the newspaper.

The Economist magazine published an article entitled “Joe Biden must now make way for an alternative candidate”. The magazine recalls that it had already asked Biden not to run for re-election at the end of 2022 and claims that the president was “stunned” and “incoherent” during the “agonizing 90 minutes of debate”.

“(A performance) too shaky, frankly, to handle another four years in the toughest job in the world,” the magazine writes.

“Financial Times” e “Time”

The Financial Times newspaper questions Biden’s ability to beat Trump. He writes that “Joe Biden appears to be too fragile to complete his mission to defeat Donald Trump.” The editorial highlights that the debate could influence the elections, and Biden’s performance may have been “the moment when hope was lost”.

“Time” magazine also published a report on Biden’s poor performance with an illustration of a cover titled “Panic” and a montage with a photo of the president walking out of the margins of the publication.

“Panic,” the text says, “is not too strong a word to describe the feeling that ran through the Democratic Party as the debate unfolded.”