US President Joe Biden last week abandoned his re-election bid in what Republicans have called a ‘bloodless coup’. The development comes at a time when 80-year-old Biden is facing mounting pressure to step down amid growing concerns over his health and mental abilities. Vice President Kamala Harris is now set to take on Donald Trump for the top post after garnering enough support.
However, prominent Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, claim that Democrats have staged something akin to a ‘coup’ against Biden. Members of the opposition party also falsely claimed that the president has already become the official Democratic nominee.
“The Democrat Party has kicked the Democrat candidate off the ballot just 100 days before the election. By invalidating the votes of over 14 million Americans who chose Joe Biden as the Democrat candidate for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven the exact opposite,” he wrote on X.
Johnson has also threatened to file a lawsuit to force Biden to appear on at least some state ballots as the Democratic nominee.
“Each state has its own system, and in some of them, it’s not possible to easily replace a candidate,” he told ABC News last week.
It is worth noting, however, that there were potential candidates for the presidency until they decided to withdraw. The Democratic Party will officially choose its candidate during the National Convention on August 19.
Republican leaders are also strongly demanding that Biden step down as President.
“Joe Biden cannot rule himself out of running for President because he is mentally incompetent and still remain in the White House,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris Lacivita and campaign chief Suzy Wills wrote in a recent memo. “Biden is a major threat to national security, his cognitive abilities have declined significantly, and he poses a clear and present danger to every man, woman, and child in our country.”
However, it is unclear how a new candidate coming to the top of the Democratic ticket will change the dynamics of the race. Polls have shown that Harris’ favorability ratings are similar to those of Trump and Biden. An AP-NORC survey in June found that 4 in 10 Americans have a favorable opinion of her, though the share of those with an unfavorable opinion was slightly lower than for Trump and Biden.
Harris, 59, is a generational different from Trump, who turned 78 last month. She would also be the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to become president — potentially a barrier-breaking candidacy that could draw new support from women, minority voters and young voters.
“President Trump will run for re-election, and whether it’s Kamala Harris or someone else, they will run on the same failed agenda that Joe Biden has run on for the last four years,” said Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.
(with inputs from agencies)
