Washington: The US Presidential Election 2024 is getting interesting. US President Joe Biden has dropped out of the election race in front of Donald Trump. Biden himself announced on Sunday that he will not contest the presidential election. He says that he has taken this decision in the interest of the party and America. But the question is, why did Biden suddenly take this decision very close to the election? That too, when he was adamant till the end that he would not withdraw from the election race. Questions were being raised on his candidature from within the Democrats itself. Despite this, he was adamant. He had clearly refused that he would not withdraw from the candidature. But what happened suddenly that he surrendered to Donald Trump?
If sources are to be believed, no one had any idea about Biden’s decision. Biden announcing his withdrawal from the presidential election race is indeed shocking for the Democrats and the Oval Office. President Biden’s decision did not come from the Oval Office or any election rally. Biden made this announcement when he was recovering from Corona among his family at his beach house in Delaware. He announced this through a letter on social media. Such announcements are rarely made in America in a very simple manner. However, the reality is that Joe Biden did not have much time left to decide or announce his candidacy.
Why did Biden back down?
The reason for this is that not only opponents but also his own people were raising questions on Biden’s candidature. Joe Biden had become a target of his own people regarding his age. Many leaders from Barack Obama to the Democrats had appealed to 81-year-old Joe Biden to withdraw from the election race. In many surveys, Biden was proving to be weak in front of Donald Trump regarding his age. Even in election rallies, Donald Trump was repeatedly cornering Biden regarding his age. Joe Biden had become weak in the eyes of the American public since the first presidential debate. In such a situation, he had no other option but to withdraw from the race for candidacy. However, he took a lot of time to take the decision.
Why is Biden’s decision surprising?
This decision of Biden is also shocking because this is the first time in the history of America that a President has decided not to contest re-election so close to the election. For the last 24 days, it seemed as if Joe Biden was planning to bravely face the storm that came after the CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta on June 27. Now the question arises that how did Biden’s mind change suddenly? What happened that Biden decided to withdraw from the candidature. When and how was its script written. According to a senior election advisor, Joe Biden, while recovering from Corona, took the final decision to withdraw from the election in the last 48 hours after discussing with his family and his top trusted advisors over the phone.
The script for Biden’s withdrawal from the election race
According to a CNN report, a source familiar with the matter said that the plan to withdraw from the election began on Saturday night (US time) and was finalized on Sunday. According to the advisor, President Biden was not adamant on his decision. He was carefully examining all the upcoming election data and surveys. He was convinced that his candidacy would slow down the Democrats’ election campaign and there would be difficulty in defeating Donald Trump. Biden understood that his candidacy could shock the Democrats and Donald Trump could get a walkover. According to a senior White House official, Biden has not taken this decision due to any medical reasons.
When was the letter written
According to a CNN report, a source said that Joe Biden asked his two closest advisers to start writing the letter and prepare for the announcement. This was on Saturday night. Another source said that President Biden wrote the letter along with his close adviser and message chief Mike Donilon. Steve Ricchetti, who has been his adviser since his time as Vice President, was entrusted with the rest of the preparations related to the announcement. Biden, who is recovering from Covid, stayed at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware with his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, throughout the weekend.
Discussion in family meeting also
It was told that Joe Biden did what he always does before taking any important decision. He held a family meeting on Saturday night (US time). According to a source, he talked to all the members of his family after deciding to withdraw from the race. His daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard had arrived in Rehoboth on Sunday. They were also a part of this conversation. But Biden consulted only his very close aides on this decision. Some of his very close people got a hint of it just a few minutes before posting it on social media. Among those people is Biden’s close communication advisor Anita Dunn.
Nobody had a clue
Sources told CNN that Anita Dunn and some senior colleagues knew about Biden’s announcement minutes before the post came out. At the same time, many employees came to know when the post came out. Anita Dunn and her husband Bob Bader were part of Biden’s debate preparation team. They were facing the anger of the President’s family since the first debate. However, an aide to Joe Biden denied that their ouster had anything to do with the debate. According to sources, Biden and Kamala Harris spoke several times before this announcement on Sunday. Biden also spoke to his Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and campaign co-chair Jen O’Malley Dillon on separate phones and informed them of his decision.
Tags: Joe Biden, US News, US President Joe Biden, US Presidential Election 2024
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 22, 2024, 08:00 IST