Democrats not back in the game just yet

There are two ways to read Joe Biden’s exit from the US presidential race. The more optimistic reading is that it gives his party, the Democrats, a fighting chance against Donald Trump. Biden’s popularity had been on the wane long before his campaign kicked off, largely thanks to his reluctance to confront Israel meaningfully over its genocidal war on Gaza. Whatever support remained took a beating after his disastrous showing in the debate with Trump on June 27, with doubts over his mental and physical capacity to serve as president deepening. After much handwringing, the Democrats now have a chance to rally behind a consensus candidate.

The other, sobering reading is that the exit comes too late. The Trump campaign, despite the former president’s several legal tangles, wasn’t all that weak from the start — his core MAGA crowd and the Tea Party loyalists were beginning to forge a truce. The quantum boost to its momentum, though, came from the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13 and his defiant stand just seconds later, and a surprising push for reconciliation in his speech accepting the Republican nomination. This is likely to have resonated with undecided voters as well.

Biden has announced support for vice president Kamala Harris as the Democrats’ challenge to Trump. There are signs of the party pivoting, with many senior leaders willing to back her. It also may be pragmatic for the party, avoiding a “blitz primary” before its upcoming national convention — a proposition that would have only injected further chaos. What remains to be seen though is whether Harris is able to mount a strong enough bid against Trump or the damage to the Democrats is already irreversible this time.

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