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UNITED STATES – Just a few days ago, the hypothesis seemed like political fiction, and most sources in the press were cautious and spoke on condition of anonymity. Modesty that disappeared after the debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump on Thursday, June 27. The Democrats themselves are now openly considering it: what if the 81-year-old American president were replaced at the last minute by another candidate in the race for the White House?
It is an understatement to say that Joe Biden missed an opportunity to reassure his party, while his state of health is a major subject of concern in the campaign for the presidential election in November. With a hoarse voice, the octogenarian frequently corrected himself and sometimes seemed to get lost in confusing sentences. He appeared to lack confidence, an image contrasting with the resolute and energetic tone of Donald Trump, 78, opposite him.
Panic spread through the ranks of the party even before the end of the exchanges between the two contenders for a second term. Near Politico, Democratic Party strategists say they were bombarded with messages of anxiety throughout the evening in view of the failed performance of the current president. One of them says he received text messages from “no less than half a dozen major donors speaking of a ‘disaster’ and calling on the party to do something”. « WTF » (” What is this mess ? »), some of them were exchanged. “Biden must give up. The question is no longer asked “says a donor, a supporter of the president, who believes he has witnessed “the worst performance in history”.
Biden “slow to start”according to its own vice-president
Many Democrats acknowledged in “on”, without anonymity this time, that Joe Biden had missed the opportunity to silence doubts about his ability to ensure a new mandate. A cold shower while the party had pushed to organize this meeting as soon as possible – it was the earliest debate for an American presidential campaign – to give new momentum to its supporters. “Joe Biden’s performance was disappointing, there’s no other way to say it”acknowledged Kate Bedingfield, former White House communications director during her early years in office.
Perhaps the most telling analysis comes from his own Vice President, Kamala Harris: « It was slow to start but finished strong”she tried to defend. In the process, the president’s team justified his poor performance by indicating that he had a cold.
“There is a form of shock seeing how the start of his debate went. How did his voice sound? He seemed a little disoriented.”also noted David Axelrod, former adviser to Barack Obama. “There will be discussions on the question of his remaining in the race. Only he can decide if he continues.”he continued to CNN.
The conditions for a replacement
This is in fact the only way for another candidate to take Joe Biden’s place: for he himself to decide to withdraw, before or after the Democratic convention, organized in mid-August, which must officially nominate him. But no member of the party, even the most pessimistic about the president’s abilities, believes in this hypothesis. If, spectacularly, it were to come true, Kamala Harris would not automatically replace him; a new vote should take place among the Democrats.
If he stays in the race, could Joe Biden be ousted by his own people? As NBC News explains, no American political party has ever tried to oust a candidate without his consent. This would amount to canceling the results of the Democratic primaries, which Joe Biden won by a large margin. The party charter does provide for replacing a candidate, but only in the event of death, resignation or incapacity.
In 2016, this last measure was considered by the interim president of the Democratic National Committee Donna Brazile, when Hillary Clinton fainted in the street in New York, two months before the election. She abandoned the idea after 24 hours, notably for fear of dividing her party. The current head of the Democratic National Committee, Jaime Harrison, is a longtime ally of Joe Biden.
Despite increasingly openly expressed fears, party figures such as California Governor Gavin Newsom continue to support Joe Biden at all costs. “He is the Democratic candidate and that will not change because of a debateinsisted Stephanie Cutter, consultant for the party, cited by Politico. We need to calm down and stay focused, because Donald Trump certainly didn’t win any votes tonight. »
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