Biden’s exit is too little, too late (2024)

Joe Biden has quit the presidential race; Kamala Harris gets his endorsem*nt. To paraphrase the vice president, now we get to imagine what the Democratic ticket could be, unburdened by what was.

Alas, the pair have left it too late to act. The Democratic Party’s reputation, either for compassion or brutal competence, is already damaged.

Biden would still be in the running but for four critical developments. First, his June 27 debate against Donald Trump, which exposed to the world what insiders had known for months: he is physically and mentally in decline. Second, the attempted assassination of the Republican nominee onJuly 13, which has softened public attitudes towards Trump.

The whole point of debating Trump in the summer rather than the autumn was to remind voters how dislikable he can be. On the contrary, it painted him as the more statesmanlike and vigorous candidate. Recent polling suggests a landslide GOP win come November.

Third, just before the weekend, Biden came down with Covid. This might have brought home to the president how vulnerable he is; it might have given him a more dignified excuse to quit. Either way, it stopped him performing at rallies that were otherwise going quite well.

And, finally, the combination of Nancy Pelosi, a cabal of congressmen and press reports that said Biden was going – whether at that moment it was true or not – created an unstoppable momentum. To head into a convention still controlling the delegates but opposed by the party’s senior leadership would’ve been ridiculous.

So the Democrats, who have always been less democratic and more cult-like than the Republicans, have finally got their gear together and effected a coup –but not before months of damaging the party’s brand.

Biden himself has been roundly humiliated. His wife, Jill, and the White House staff must take blame for not persuading him to go immediately after the debate, allowing him to dig his grave further in public. Only two weeks ago, he described himself as the first black woman to serve as vice president. This was not a fair way to treat someone who gave years of service to the country, who ought to have been handled with sensitivity, yes, but also with direct honesty. Many of his supporters will be furious.

You can count among them the liberal grassroots and ethnic minorities. They point out that having sold one ticket to voters, it’ll be hard to drum up enthusiasm for another one in just four months – and that there’s no guarantee the ticket will be as progressive as Biden/Harris was.

Then there’s one other, very important groupthat will be anxious he’s going: Republicans. When JD Vance tweeted that Biden should quit, it was surely a case of reverse psychology. Trump/Vance knows that Joe was the weakest candidate, that they could cruise to re-election through to November. Now there is uncertainty in the race. A controversial convention could play to the GOP’s advantage,for sure, but it could also be top entertainment, kicking Trump off the front pages.

Of course, they’ll be rubbing their hands with glee that Biden is endorsing Harris – a woman perceived as failing in her brief on immigration, who speaks gibberish with the laugh of a hyena, and who couldn’t even make it to Iowa during the 2020 primaries.

On the other hand, perhaps we shouldn’t “misunderestimate” her. Harris spoke at a rally recently, attacking Vance, and was pretty good: funny, punchy, unleashed. She has underwhelmed as a vice president but they all do: the job is about playing dumb, clapping whatever the boss says. If we are approving VPs by mindless loyalty, she’s done a good job. If candidates are ranked for historical quality, being the first woman of colour to head a ticket is something to talk about (and she will).

But we should never forget what the Democrats have put their party, their country and the world through. At a time when dictators are on the move, and the economy is in fast transition, they have saddled us all with a decrepit president who was plainly not firing on all cylinders – and, worse, conspired to hide his involuntary nudity even when the emperor finally stepped out into the street to display his new clothes.

It was reckless. It was cruel. Given that they are supposed to be the nice party, it was shamefully unkind.