There are various signs that the tug of war over whether Biden will withdraw from the election is likely to continue until next week; as more and more Democratic lawmakers publicly demand that the president withdraw, Biden's pressure is growing heavier; on the Republican side, they are also preparing for a scenario of 'switching Harris'.
As of Sunday morning Beijing time, the cloud of doubt surrounding whether US President and Democratic Party's 2024 presidential candidate Joe Biden will continue to run has intensified, but there have been no rumors of any wavering on Biden's part — implying that the related tug of war is likely to continue into next week.
According to the latest update from White House doctor O'Connor, Biden continued to take medication (Paxlovid) on Saturday morning, and although he still has a 'mild, non-productive cough and hoarse voice', his symptoms 'continue to improve steadily'.
According to Biden, he hopes to 'set out on the campaign trail again' next week after he recovers from his illness, but the reality is that more and more Democratic officials are openly expressing opposition.
The 'persuasion to withdraw' team has grown.
On Saturday local time, California Representative Mark Takano issued a statement saying, 'President Biden's greatest achievement to date has been saving democracy in 2020. He can and he must do so again in 2024 -- by passing the torch to Vice President Harris and making her the Democratic Party's presidential candidate.'
According to local media statistics, Takano is the 36th Democratic legislator to publicly call on Biden to withdraw.
For the higher echelons of the Democratic Party, they too seem to have unified recently to hint publicly that 'Biden should withdraw'.
Speaking in an interview on Saturday, Senator Elizabeth Warren stated for the first time that Biden 'needs to make a very important decision.' She went on to say that Harris is ready to 'step up' and 'unite the party' to fight against Trump.
Warren said, 'If you're going to take on a convicted felon, someone like Kamala is really a great choice.' This refers to when Harris served as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general.
'Switching Harris' consensus is gradually forming.
Although no one currently knows how the process of 'switching' will be carried out, many Democrats believe that switching Harris would be the fastest way to resolve the current turmoil. It is obvious that not everyone supports Harris, but the exhaustion from the tug-of-war since the end of June is 'consolidating a consensus'.
Some Democratic lawmakers who requested anonymity are also worried that if Biden withdraws and there is an open competition, it will further confuse the Democratic Party. According to the schedule, the Democratic Party needs to officially nominate a presidential candidate in August, so there is not much time left for all parties.
Those who have the opportunity to vie for the presidential candidate position are also worried that if they openly challenge Harris and she ultimately loses to Trump, they will be blamed for weakening the party's cohesion and affecting their chances of winning the primaries in 2028.
In this process, Biden's choice will be very important — in addition to whether he will withdraw, if he does, he also needs to make it clear whether he supports Harris to take over.
For Biden himself, this is also a dilemma. After Obama completed two terms in 2016, he publicly chose Hillary instead of Biden to challenge Trump, which reportedly 'caused Biden a lot of pain'. At the same time, directly replacing Harris would also bring another risk — killing the possibility of 'the first black woman president in America', and most likely causing the black community to turn against the Democratic Party.
From another perspective, there is still a question as to whether the donors and elites who support Biden will support Harris. As New York State Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Thursday, 'Most of the donors, most of the elites, who wanted Joe Biden not to be the nominee, don't want to see the Vice President become the nominee either.'
The Republican Party has already begun preparations.
In the face of the possibility of a 'replacement Harris', Trump-Pence campaign team has already implemented countermeasures.
According to anonymous GOP campaign operatives, the Republican Party is not only very interested in reviewing Harris' past 'incoherent' Q&A videos, but also repeatedly asking her when she became aware of Biden's health issues and the impact of old age. The Republicans will also push for Biden to resign directly to create more chaos and make Harris even more panicked.
Coincidentally, Pence who was just appointed as Trump's campaign partner this week, tweeted on Saturday that if Biden cannot participate in the competition, he should immediately resign.
According to the latest report on Saturday, the Republican Camp has begun preparing for 'Biden's resignation,' and is currently focusing its main efforts on responding to the scenario where Harris takes over, including preparing for a wave of campaign advertisements against Harris. Their judgment is that the Democratic Party is unlikely to risk offending black voters and bypass Harris.
The Trump camp also began to scrutinize Democratic governors who might become Harris' running mate. Currently, the most watched is Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, which is also a strategically important 'swing state' in the election.
Editor/Emily