Biden Stays or Leaves? In Retreat with Family to Decide His Future –

Camillo Barone

July 01, 2024

The fate of the Democratic candidacy, namely Joe Biden’s continuation after the tarnished performance in the televised duel with Donald Trump, is moving from Washington to Camp David. There, the US president is expected to discuss the future of his re-election campaign with his family. NBC News reported this yesterday, citing informed sources. The visit to Camp David had been scheduled before Thursday’s televised debate and was for the US president and first lady Jill Biden to join their children and grandchildren there. “An informal meeting,” as the sources emphasize, but one that could be decisive for Biden’s “change of heart.” Some Democrats believe that only the president, after consulting with his family, can decide whether to continue or end his campaign early. “Two people make the decisions: the president and his wife,” said one of the sources close to the talks, adding: “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and family this decision will be is not informed about the situation.”

Those who do not contemplate the possibility of a farewell are his staff. “Biden will be the Democratic nominee, period. End of story. The voters voted. He won in a landslide.” This is what the deputy director of the American president’s electoral campaign, Rob Flaherty, wrote in an email to supporters. Abc news reported, quoting the same representative as saying: “If Biden were to withdraw, it would lead to weeks of chaos, internal fighting and candidates struggling in a brutal brawl on the convention stage, while Trump would have time to speak, unchallenged, to American voters.” All this, he continues, “would be at the service of a candidate who would present himself in the general election in the weakest possible position with zero dollars in his bank account. You want a highway to losing? This is it.” In this context, it is therefore essential to also reassure the donors who, with dollars, are supporting Biden’s race. In recent hours, the Democratic candidate has stepped up his fundraising efforts, attempting to reassure voters about his health by claiming he can win the election despite his performance against his predecessor, Trump. “I didn’t have a good night, but neither did Trump,” Joe said during one of the fundraising events organized in the states of New York and New Jersey, in the north-east of the United States. Jill Biden has forcefully defended her 81-year-old husband in the face of calls to withdraw his candidacy, saying that “Joe is not only the right person for the job, he’s the only person for the job.”

A strategy that is not in line with the ideas expressed by the entire American press, which has already asked Biden to withdraw. It has never happened before in American history. For the current number one in the White House, however, it would not be the first time in his life that everything seems to be over forever. At less than 30 years old, he suddenly lost his wife and daughter and in 2015 another son died of cancer. The press never supported his candidacies for the Senate and vice presidency in 2008, and then rowed against his entry into the primaries and presidential elections in 2020. The ferocious attacks of the last few hours will hardly be able to convince him to step aside. Not listening to advice and pressure is in his DNA, those close to him have always said. In the last three days, however, the elected representatives of the Democratic Party in both the House and the Senate have bombarded journalists from multiple newspapers with messages, expressing panic, dismay (and at times anger) for the choice to run for a second term. None of these elected officials have yet had the courage to speak out openly, thus asking the same journalists to stay off the record and write only about deep internal discontent within the party, without mentioning any names. This way of protesting, not very bold at the moment, has very clear reasons: antagonizing the Democratic president in office is too high a price to pay, especially if he were to be re-elected. The discouragement has grown even more since the giants of the party – Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton – the only ones for now, have immediately come to the rescue. For them, the game is still open, and no one else would really be able to beat Trump as he has already done in 2020. But barring any sudden twists and changes of heart, this is what will happen in the coming months.