By Mildred Robertson
President Joe Biden took the unprecedented step to bow out of his presidential re-election campaign, abruptly ending his half-century political career. With just 4 months until the 2024 Presidential election, one would have thought his actions would have thrown the Democratic Party into a tailspin.
Instead, Biden led a well-orchestrated hand-off to Vice President Kamala Harris, who took up the race without missing a beat. In fact, the Harris campaign has tightened the race to a statistical dead heat in many battleground states in less than two weeks.
Harris's nomination seems to have released a bound-up enthusiasm inspiring exhausted Democrats and electrifying independents and never-Trump Republicans with the mere possibility that she might defeat Trump in November. This new-found enthusiasm spawned an organic grassroots effort. A broad coalition of supporters gathered on Zoom calls raising millions of dollars to support Harris's Whitehouse bid.
The first call was initiated by Black women immediately after the President turned the reigns over to Harris. The Sunday night call attracted 44,000 participants and raised $1.5 million in just 3 hours. Impressed, a group of white women decided to follow suit. On Thursday, 164,000 White Women for Harris broke the world record for the largest Zoom call, raising $8.5 million and still counting.
The success of these two calls resulted in a groundswell of organizations ranging from White Dudes for Kamala who raised $10,000 to Crazy Cat Ladies, all pouring dollars into the newly minted Harris campaign.
Biden withdrew from the race following pressure from many Democratic leaders after a poor performance at the June 27 debate against Trump. While he appeared too frail for the battle, many continued to support him following his abysmal debate performance. It was feared that his exit from the race would throw the party into an upheaval resulting in a Trump victory.
But the 81-year-old Biden drew on his years of political experience and timed his announcement after the Republican Convention, stepping on their messaging. The spotlight, meant to shine on the Republican Convention and grant them unearned press instead shone brightly on Biden and his extraordinary hand-off of the 2024 Democratic nomination to his Vice President. Harris and her campaign have dominated the press since the Biden announcement.
Biden's decision to step down had to be difficult. He undoubtedly believed that he could defeat Trump again. However, he knew he had lost the confidence of many of those he would need to achieve that goal. Rather than fighting to convince his detractors that he was up to the job, Biden chose to relinquish his claim to the most powerful seat in the world and thwart Trump's bid for the Whitehouse. Using a well-thought-out strategy, he passed the nomination to Harris and infused new life into the campaign.
He will be remembered in history for his selfless sacrifice. His legacy will stand tall among America's heroes. If Trump is thwarted and Harris can take the Whitehouse, Biden will be remembered as the man who helped preserve American democracy.
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