After Joe Biden's disastrous performance, the Democratic opinion leaders, but also many within the party, declared that Biden cannot remain the Democratic presidential candidate. However, replacing Joe Biden is not so easy.
There has never been a presidential debate in American history in which the candidate of one party has performed so poorly that his own supporters have called for his removal. However, that is exactly what happened now. Joe Biden's confused state during the CNN debate caused panic among Democrats, and a series of opinion pieces were written about the fact that it is time for the president to step down.
"I hope (Biden) will review his debate performance on Thursday night, withdraw from the race, and leave the selection of the Democratic nominee to the August convention."
- wrote Nicholas Kristof, one of the leading columnists of the New York Times, whose article was just one in a sea of similar articles.
Such opinions are also extraordinary because up to this point the American press called it "Republican propaganda" that the president was in bad shape.
Joe Biden's performance during the debate also made it obvious to Democratic voters:
the president is not physically and mentally fit to lead the country for another four years.
Although Barack Obama and leading Democrats stood by Joe Biden, according to the Hill's report , many of the congressional Democrats are demanding that Biden step down. The paper describes: previously such criticism was unthinkable within the party, but Thursday's debate changed everything. Several representatives said: they would like Biden not to be the candidate, but for now they do not publicly accept this.
The Democrats' national nominating convention will be held between August 19 and 22 (a virtual nomination may also take place before that on August 7); and the election is a little more than four months away, so there is not much time left for a new presidential candidate to come forward.
After the Trump-Biden debate, are they preparing for the president's resignation?
Exchange options
Amidst the first panic, a crowd of Democratic opinion leaders began to say that the party should replace Biden. However, it is not that simple. The Democratic primary is over and Joe Biden has taken home the most delegates. In principle, it would be possible to replace Biden if the delegates revolted, but this does not seem likely.
the NBC News article , an exchange involving a rebellion is almost impossible, which is why no one has ever attempted it.
“The party's constitution contains provisions to replace the candidate if the seat becomes vacant. The measure shall be applied in the event of death, resignation or obstruction, and not to replace a person who does not wish to resign"
NBC reports.
Republicans have also suggested that Biden be moved aside by his own cabinet, as there is a constitutional mechanism for this.
Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said : Members of President Biden's cabinet should consider using the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove Biden from office. According to Johnson, the visible weakness of the president puts the whole of America in a dangerous situation. However, this option would mean that Kamala Harris would replace Biden as both president and presidential candidate.
Step back
The most likely scenario would be that Joe Biden voluntarily withdraws from the candidacy. However, based on the day after the debate, the president apparently has no intention of backing down. On Friday, Biden gave a speech surrounded by stars at the opening of a new LGBTQ-themed visitor center in New York. If he could be persuaded to step down, the Democrats have the mechanism to quickly replace him. However, when he would step back is a very important question.
As described by Fox News
if Biden steps aside before August, his delegates will no longer be tied to him, which means they can vote for anyone.
At that time, the field would be open and anyone from the party could run, even those who otherwise did not run in the primary election. This would mean that the Democratic delegates could decide who the nominee should be in August. According to Fox's article, if he were to step down after the meeting, the narrow leadership of the Democratic Party could practically decide on a new candidate. The article also outlines a possibility that Biden will withdraw only after the ballots have been printed. In this case, although the Democrats would vote for Biden, in practice another person would be the candidate.
Who would be the new candidate?
If Joe Biden were to step down, the candidate supported by the president would probably be Vice President Kamala Harris.
However, it is a big question whether the party would rally behind the unpopular Harris.
The vice president can say that, unlike any other Democrat, he can argue that he has the will of the voters behind him, since he campaigned with Joe Biden throughout the primary election. There isn't much chance that the delegates will revolt against Joe Biden; however, there is a possibility that they will rebel against Harris's nomination despite the declared will of the party leadership.
In the hours after the debate, the names of two Democrats were mentioned in the American media as possible presidential candidates.
One is California Governor Gavin Newsom and the other is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Both are under the age of sixty and are very popular within the party. What works against them is that they are also considered progressive within Democrats, which makes it unlikely that they will be able to win over the important independent voters that Biden carried away in 2020.
Even Michelle Obama is a frequently mentioned name, but it is well known that she did not like Washington and expressed several times that she did not want to enter the political field. Barack Obama's support of Biden also signals that there will probably not be another Obama candidate for the Democrats.
However, due to the ex-first lady's astonishing popularity, the option that the party leadership will convince her to run cannot be completely dismissed. If Joe Biden were to step aside before August, it could easily happen that a name that no one has thrown in yet appears. However, it may also happen that after the first panic, the party will get back behind Joe Biden, and he will still be the candidate of the Democrats - it will be what it will be.
Featured image: MTI/EPA/UPI pool/Sarah Silbiger
