The series of misfortunes that led yesterday to Biden to step aside in the US power struggle brings echoes of the presidente Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), who surprised the world by announcing that I would not seek re-election months before a convention.
The parallels are several: LBJ, with two heart attacks behind him and a delicate healthHe decided not seeking re-election in March 1968 before the unpopularity of the Vietnam War and gave way to an open party convention in August and which, like this year, was celebrated in Chicago.
“The closest thing to this, when I look back at American history, is the 1968 primaries in which My father participated y was murdered“, he said precisely Robert F. Kennedy Jr.son of Robert F. Kennedycandidate that fateful year for the Presidency y murdered in June with three shots.
1968, a ‘terrible year’ for the world
The one of 1968 was a tumultuous year in U.S. history; The widespread discontent over the Vietnam War (1955-1975), coupled with the concerns of its allies regarding its delicate state of health They billed him Johnson.
On March 31, 1968 succumbed to the pressures and in a televised speech announced his salida of the electoral race: “I will not seek, nor accept, my party’s nomination for another term as your president.“.
That unexpected speech would lead to a race against the tide to find a candidate among the democratic ranks capable of facing the republicano Richard Nixonwho held a spectacular advantage over his rivals in the polls.
The former president’s brother came out on top John F. Kennedy (JFK), Robert (RFK), who ran for the Democratic nomination next to Eugene McCarthyanti-war activist.
After the murder of Kennedy Two months after announcing his candidacy, shocked societyMcCarthy would face off against Hubert Humphrey for the Democratic race for the White House at the convention held in ChicagoThe latter took the nomination, angering the opposing factions to the intervention in Vietnam.
That violent year, in which also The assassination of Martin Luther King shocked the countryhas some parallelism with this 2024 and the attempted shooting of the Republican candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania last day 13th.
Chicago, a cursed bastion for Democrats
Chance or destiny, the Democratic Convention This year will take place in Chicago. The 1968 one was a turning point for democrats and will be remembered for the annals of history as one of the most violent after the clashes between protesters against the War and the Policewhich resulted in mass arrests amid the chaos.
“There was chaos that broke out y destroyed the Democratic Party for a decade,” the independent candidate said yesterday Kennedy.
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