In the end, he could not overcome the barrier of ‘age.’ The most direct reason for U.S. President Joe Biden, who had been at the center of Washington politics for over half a century, withdrawing from the Democratic presidential race on the 21st (local time) was the first TV debate held on the 27th of last month. At 81 years old this year, President Biden showed the entire nation a stark image of frailty, unable to even form coherent sentences during the debate, and the calls for candidate replacement that arose even before the debate ended escalated uncontrollably. With President Biden finally surrendering after holding out, the ‘drama’ spanning 25 days since the first TV debate has come to a grand conclusion.
TV Debate Defeat Highlights Age Controversy
For President Biden, the controversy over his advanced age had been a constant label since he took office in 2021 as the ‘oldest U.S. president’ at the age of 78. However, the first TV debate, which was more than just poor performance but a complete defeat, is evaluated to have delivered a huge shock even to Democratic lawmakers and supporters who believed that Biden could successfully serve another four years despite his age. During the debate, President Biden stood with his mouth open and dazed, stammered, and failed to form accurate sentences. The age controversy, which had previously been a ‘quiet concern,’ was revealed as a reality live on air.
The day after the debate, progressive media outlets including The New York Times (NYT) began calling for President Biden to withdraw from the race. Starting with Representative Lloyd Doggett on the 2nd, public demands for Biden’s withdrawal from Democratic lawmakers intensified. As calls for withdrawal grew louder over time, President Biden took overt measures to suppress them, including on the 8th labeling demands for candidate replacement within the Democratic Party as effectively inappropriate actions. However, concerns surrounding him did not easily dissipate, with pessimistic voices even coming from major Democratic figures. At the NATO summit on the 11th, where Biden sought to demonstrate his vitality, he even mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moreover, with the Republican base rallying after the attempted attack on former President Donald Trump, the sense of crisis over a potential Democratic defeat in the upcoming election intensified both inside and outside the party. The suspension of campaigning due to a COVID-19 reinfection added insult to injury. According to The Washington Post (WP), as of the 19th, 35 Democratic members of Congress?over 12% of all Democratic lawmakers?had publicly called for Biden’s withdrawal. Among them, longstanding allies such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with Democratic leadership, urged his decision daily, leading to widespread analysis that President Biden had no choice but to step down.
Draft Written the Night Before, Harris Also Learned on the Day
President Biden’s decision to withdraw was made secretly and swiftly, to the extent that even Vice President Kamala Harris only learned of it on the day. According to The New York Times (NYT), Biden summoned his closest aides, presidential advisor Steve Ricchetti and chief strategist Mike Donilon, to his home late in the afternoon the day before. The three worked late into the night drafting the withdrawal statement and considering the next steps. CNN also reported that the decision to drop out was made within the last 48 hours. A source said that President Biden instructed the two aides to draft the statement on Saturday night, and it was finalized on Sunday.
On Sunday, at 1:46 p.m., just one minute before posting the statement on X (formerly Twitter), President Biden informed his other aides of his decision to withdraw. Foreign media confirmed that Vice President Harris also learned of the president’s decision only on that day. A source told CNN that President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke several times before the withdrawal announcement. A senior administration official told the NYT that President Biden had hoped to shift attention to a different image of himself after the first TV debate last month but was unable to do so.
After announcing his decision not to seek re-election, President Biden’s camp dismissed demands from some Republicans that he should also resign from the presidency. The White House stated in a release that President Biden has no intention of resigning from office and looks forward to completing his term and delivering more historic achievements for the American people.
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