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Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 5 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

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Joe Biden has reportedly become more open in recent days to hearing arguments that he should step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate after the party’s two main congressional leaders told him they doubted his ability to beat Donald Trump.

While continuing to insist he will be the party’s nominee in November, the president has reportedly started asking questions about negative polling data and whether Vice-President Kamala Harris, considered the favourite to replace him if were to withdraw, fares better.

The indications of a possible rethink come after Biden tested positive on Wednesday for Covid-19, forcing him to isolate for several days while curtailing a campaigning visit to Nevada that had been part of a drive to show his candidacy was very much alive.

It also coincides with fresh polling data showing that he now trails Trump by two points in Virginia, a state he won by 10 points in 2020.

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[-] EnderMB@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago

Honestly, given the amount of news that this is getting, I'm starting to think that a decision has already been made, and that the Dems are either:

Waiting for it to blow over, and for Biden to stay and fight
A transition candidate has been picked, and it'll be either Harris or another candidate to announce themselves with an immediate campaign.

The former seems like a terrible idea. Before the debate Biden was "fine" as a candidate, and debates don't really affect much in terms of voting intention - but dragging this out and staying on just looks bad with Trump having the (I can't believe I'm writing this) near-assassination high after his convicted felon low.

Depending on the candidate, the latter could be a fantastic move. I'm not convinced that Kamala Harris could beat Trump, but a double-ticket of someone like AOC with either Biden or Harris as VP could be a winner. Play things coy, have Biden come out right at the end, say he's staying on...as a VP to your new candidate, and start flooding the news and socials with the new candidate. Trump will lose his shit because the news is no longer on him.

[-] VanillaBean@lemmy.world 8 points 5 months ago

OK so who takes the torch this late in the game though? Kamala? Has to be Kamala, right?

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[-] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

I think it’s hilarious that just a few days ago he said if he had a medical condition that forced him to step away he would.

I don’t know if COVID qualifies but I think it’s ironic. Maybe even a sign from God lol

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[-] OhStopYellingAtMe@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

Kamala Harris / Sherrod Brown would be a great ticket. Ohio would explode during the VP debate.

[-] nifty@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Since AOC / Bernie is out of the question for now, I think Newsom makes a good pick. If they nominate him, wonder who might be his running mate, he might bring in someone completely fresh so that’s fair

[-] Furbag@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

While I do think he's an effective bureaucrat and statesman, Newsom is genuinely reviled by California Republicans. Republicans not liking their Democrat governor is obviously nothing new, but there was nowhere near even 1% of the same vitriol being directed towards Jerry Brown, his predecessor and also a Democrat.

I kind of feel like Newsom doesn't really have the chops for the national stage yet. He doesn't have any accolades to his name, was mired in a scandal during Covid, and California is not doing so hot on the issues that the Dem establishment are trying hard to tackle. Chiefly among those issues is rampant homelessness and drug addiction, which the state has funneled billions into trying to solve and so far gotten nowhere fast. The attack ads almost write themselves.

To be clear, I do find him appealing (at least more than Biden), but I think he's going to have an uphill battle at unifying the disparate Democratic party if he's given 4-ish months to mount a campaign.

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this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2024

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