# President Biden Dropping Out of Race **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [July 21, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540 "2024-07-21T18:05:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/101 "2024-07-21T19:40:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Imagine if you asked a bunch of liberals, “Would you vote Republican if Trump dropped out and was replaced by a normal, ethical, average Republican?” Or Vance. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/102 "2024-07-21T19:42:03Z")
Will do, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/103 "2024-07-21T19:45:02Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I’m hearing unanimous support. Bill and Hillary Clinton just put out a statement to that effect. And AOC’s support for Biden was based on the belief that the nefarious forces opposing him would also oppose Harris…so it looks like we have party unity! Let’s go save democracy!! ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/104 "2024-07-21T19:45:42Z")
I hope that anyone who takes this personally will realize that the best way to honor Biden’s legacy is to ensure that there is a massive, MAGA-crushing Democratic victory. Not voting or voting for a 3rd party candidate as protest will just help ensure a Trump victory and make Biden’s sacrifice worthless. I’m sure Biden would be much happier with a massive Democratic victory rather than having supporters protest vote Trump into office. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/105 "2024-07-21T19:47:50Z")
I was just thinking about this right before he announced. The convention is coming soon. He would be expected to be on camera for long periods of time beyond just his speech. If he showed any sign of weakness on camera it would be over. Then add to that having a lingering case of Covid. I certainly wasn’t confident he could handle that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/106 "2024-07-21T19:53:44Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > He wants to let the party decide without influence The problem with that is that the Democratic field is now going to be a mosh pit of people vying for the nomination and doing the GOPs work of slamming each other with oppo instead of circling wagons around a single candidate. Maybe that will work out okay, but frankly Biden should have been mentoring and setting up a successor two years ago instead of continuing to mull over prospects for a second run. The problem is that the person he (and most Democrats) would have preferred would not have been Kamala Harris, and undermining her in such an obvious way would have created its own set of consequences internal to the executive. Personally, I think Harris is a weak candidate (barely broke doubt digits in the 2020 primary polls, and had to drop out before the first primary election for lack of funding and donor support) but she’s honestly the closest thing to a consensus candidate that the DNC has, and the primary is now likely to become a complete shitshow while the GOP has aligned their forces in _Stechmarsch_ with their short-fingered vulgarian leader. This is not a good start. [ETA, I see that Biden did endorse Harris if belatedly.] > [@squeegee](#): > > If Biden is not up to the job next year, he’s not up to the job now. He should resign immediately and let Harris run as the incumbent president. Because that strategy worked so well for Gerald Ford in 1976? > [@wolfpup](#): > > I’m optimistic about the potential to galvanize the Black vote and women’s vote; as stupid as that kind of affiliation is, it’s a political reality. And all the racists and misogynists are already voting for Trump, so no loss there. Except that while Harris might get a lot of the ‘undecided’ womens’ vote, I think the overturn of _Roe v. Wade_ and wave of state-level abortion restrictions plus talk of a national abortion ban already all but guarantees the bulk of that vote for any Democratic candidate. Harris has not polled particularly well with Blacks overall, perhaps in part because she is perceived as progressive (even though she is squarely in the center right window of the mainline Democratic party), but also I suspect because many don’t consider her genuinely Black due to her half South Asian parentage. Racism is not just a one-sided phenomenon limited to pot-bellied oafs in red hats, and while it is fun to characterize Trump voters as all being extreme racists (which many of them explicitly are) that kind of attitude overlooks the reality that he got the largest number of voters to vote for a Republican ticked twice in a row, and 11 million more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016 despite what a shitter of an economy the country was in. I see too many people vigorously patting themselves on the back for how Trump only appeals to racist dumb hillbillies who can’t even read a ballot which isn’t supported by the data, and even if it were true he’s still a formidable opponent even after babbling on in stream-of-consciousness mode and running the worst presidential administration in living memory, maybe since Andrew Johnson. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/107 "2024-07-21T19:53:51Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Are all those Democrats that wanted Biden to back out going to support Harris? What have we heard so far? Why wouldn’t they? There were deeply concerning reasons for pushing for Biden to drop out. None of them apply to Harris. I’m delighted that Biden dropped out, and feel that it really gives the Democratic ticket hope for the first time. My opinion doesn’t matter one whit but in my wishes I’m fully behind Harris even though she wouldn’t have been my first choice. And a great VP pick could make the Dem ticket unstoppable against the fascists. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/108 "2024-07-21T19:55:31Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The problem with that is that the Democratic field is now going to be a mosh pit of people vying for the nomination and doing the GOPs work of slamming each other with oppo instead of circling wagons around a single candidate. I think the Ds have already effectively extinguished any anti-Harris opposition from the get-go with today’s announcements. Any D who steps forward to challenge Kamala is going to be vilified. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/109 "2024-07-21T19:57:46Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Because that strategy worked so well for Gerald Ford in 1976? Oh, I didn’t realize Harris was going to _also_ pardon Nixon. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/110 "2024-07-21T19:59:01Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Personally, I think Harris is a weak candidate (barely broke doubt digits in the 2020 primary polls, and had to drop out before the first primary election for lack of funding and donor support) Apples and oranges. She was running against a field of friends and political allies before. That’s a hard needle for many to thread. This time she’d be running against the anti-christ embodied by a convicted felon rapist who tried to overthrow the government less than four years ago. I suspect it’ll be easier to campaign against that than a handful of fellow Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/111 "2024-07-21T20:03:26Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > the Democratic field is now going to be a mosh pit of people vying for the nomination Who do you see entering that mosh pit, gathering up enough delegate signatures? I have very little confidence in my crystal ball but I will surprised if any other names reach that threshold. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/112 "2024-07-21T20:03:35Z")
I think the decision has already been made to be Harris, and we’ll see in the coming days that the vast majority of Democratic officials will endorse her. And no one else significant will even run. If you’re right, we’ll know pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/113 "2024-07-21T20:03:45Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think the Ds have already effectively extinguished any anti-Harris opposition from the get-go with today’s announcements. I wrote that comment before it was verified that Biden endorsed Harris, hence the ETA because I didn’t want to rewrite the entire thing. I still think Harris is not the strongest candidate that the DNC could hypothetically field but she’s now up at bat and it would be foolhardy for anyone else to challenge her at this point, both for their own chances and the possibility that it would further weaken Harris’ campaign. I expect every possible contender to endorse her (except Joe Manchin, of course, because he’s _That Fucking Guy_) and encourage their potential donors to fund her. But then, nobody ever lost betting for the Democratic Party engaging in internal drama that spills out into the public sphere or managing to pull defeat from the jaws of victory, so hopefully Democrats are all on board with defeating Trump at all costs above any personal ego trips. > [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Apples and oranges. She was running against a field of friends and political allies before. That’s a hard needle for many to thread. This time she’d be running against the anti-christ embodied by a convicted felon rapist who tried to overthrow the government less than four years ago. I suspect it’ll be easier to campaign against that than a handful of fellow Democrats. We can but hope that to be the case. But while many people are trying to make hay over Trump being “a convicted felon rapist who tried to overthrow the government”, for many of his supporters and even some disaffected independent voters, that is just a badge of honor that shows what an ‘outsider’ he is despite having previously held the office and having engaged in serious shit-fuckery with democratic institutions long before he spurred on one of the dumbest insurrections in history. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Ryan\_Liam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ryan_liam/32/3965_2.png) [@Ryan\_Liam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryan_Liam)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/114 "2024-07-21T20:05:14Z")
I cannot believe this has happened, literally guaranteed a Trump win if Kamala is the Presidential nominee, if they weren’t going to vote for Clinton in 2016, they’re sure as shit are not going to vote in Hillary 2.0 in 2024. Biden should have ran the race, and if he won, then resigned and handed over the keys to Kamala, not before. But no doubt this is madness, she.is.not.popular! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/115 "2024-07-21T20:06:27Z")
Much as we don’t want a rehash of Sanders hijack this thread. We also don’t want a rehash of Clinton either. Do not continue this. **Moderating** ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/116 "2024-07-21T20:13:06Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > My cogent political take: America is fucked. So, no change? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/117 "2024-07-21T20:14:27Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > She can’t after her defense of Biden. Surrogates though? Full out. idk if you got the memo, but she can say whatever she wants, because Republicans have full-on killed hypocrisy. Anybody can say anything. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/118 "2024-07-21T20:17:14Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I think Harris is a weak candidate (barely broke doubt digits in the 2020 primary polls, and had to drop out before the first primary election for lack of funding and donor support) I don’t know if her history in the primaries is relevant. For the primaries, there were 18 mostly unknown candidates, almost none of whom broke double digits and had to drop out due to lack of funding. Harris was just one of many new and unknown faces, and the public was confused Now, she is a well known face, and has plenty of money (from Biden’s warchest). So the public is less confused now. They still know very little about her, because, well, Veeps don’t do much. But she may have a better chance now. --If she runs a good campaign\*, and if she manages to make clear , believable statements about her policies so that people feel they can trust her. – \*in the primaries, she showed herself to be a terrible organizer. Her own campaign staff [rebelled against her](https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harriss-campaign-is-facing-an-internal-revolt-2019-11). For 2020, Harris started a campaign from scratch, and hired her sister to manage a dozen new staffers. But now she can campaign backed by the entire Dem party’s institutional structure, already in place, with experienced staff. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/119 "2024-07-21T20:25:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The raw, naked race and sex hatred from the Right is coming _very_ soon. Did you _have_ to phrase it that way? ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2024, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540/120 "2024-07-21T20:27:22Z")
I hope the whiners are happy now. Now if Harris is the nominee and doesn’t win, all the hindsighters will go on and on about how she lost because she wasn’t a good candidate blah blah blah. And trump will tear her apart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-biden-dropping-out-of-race/1004540.md?page=7)