With Biden out, the aging question turns to Trump

Two 'breaks' were taken in the debate moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bass. The 'microphones' worn by both the candidates were muted until it was their turn to speak. And, no audience was allowed in the studio. According to CNN, in the 90-minute debate, Trump spoke for 40 minutes and 2 seconds and Biden for 35 minutes and 7 seconds.

President Biden spoke on the economy, abortion, immigration, foreign policy, policy on black Americans, climate change, Social Security, children's health, the 2020 election results and his age. Trump spoke about the economy, import taxes, abortion, immigration, foreign policy, policy on black Americans, the environment, Social Security and his age.

photos: Reuters

After the debate, US President Joe Biden suddenly came into the limelight. The reason for that is his presentation. He was heavily criticized by the American media and the Democratic Party, while most American voters questioned Biden's age and ability to do the job. Democrats criticized Biden for his lackluster performance in the June 27 debate. One of them is Pennsylvania Governor Jose Sapiro. He said that 'Biden's presentation was very bad'.

I think Joe Biden's debate was pretty bad, but that doesn't change the fact that Donald Trump is a bad president. "Trump took the stage last night and lied not only about his past, but also about his proposals for the future," Sapiro said. Vice President Kamala Harris said that President Biden looked weak at the beginning but gave a very good performance in the end.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote an article titled "President Biden, I've Seen Enough" on June 27 and said that he is "hopeful that Biden will withdraw from the presidential race." He said that in order to prevent Donald Trump from being re-elected, the Democratic Party should choose a new presidential candidate from the upcoming convention and Biden should pave the way for that. In the next few days, Joe Biden faced intense pressure from within his own party to abandon his candidacy. Especially Senate Majority Leader Chuck Sumer, House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were in the forefront. Pelosi secretly met with Biden and told her that polls showed she could not win the November election.

Then former President Barack Obama joined the team against him. Biden was vice president in 2008 and 2012 when Obama was elected president. Obama told him to withdraw his candidacy saying that "now the possibility of Biden winning the presidential election is over". Congressman Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland, wrote a letter on July 6 calling President Biden a "baseball player with a very tight arm." But until then, the 81-year-old Biden was not in favor of abandoning the candidacy. He used to say, 'Donald Trump must be defeated again in the next election and there is no one else in the Democratic Party for that.'

But Biden, along with other Democratic leaders, came under more pressure as the number of donors and voters stacked against him. Lloyd Doggett, a 15-time congressman from Texas, said five days after the June 27 debate that "it is time for Biden to make the difficult and painful decision to withdraw his candidacy." Senators Peter Welch (Vermont), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico) and John Tester (Montana) also stood against Biden. Similarly, 26 Democratic leaders from different states also said that Biden should give up his candidacy.

As the pressure grew, President Biden was forced to announce his withdrawal from the November 5 presidential election race in a statement last Sunday. "For the good of his party (Democratic) and the country," Biden said, he has given up his plans to become president again.

He became the first president in five decades to withdraw from the election race for a second term. Earlier in March 1968, Lyndon Johnson withdrew from the presidential race. Biden also mentioned in the statement that he "takes the opportunity to serve as president as a great honor and will complete the remainder of his term until January." Senior Republican leaders, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, have been saying that Biden should immediately step down from the presidency.

With the announcement that he has withdrawn from the election race, Biden has advanced Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Harris said she was honored to be nominated as a presidential candidate. 59-year-old Harris responded by 'uniting the country against Trump'.

According to American media, Harris is almost certain to be the candidate for the Democratic Party. If that happens, she will also be the first black woman to run for president of the United States. No woman has ever been elected president of the United States.

Harris, 59, who was elected vice president in 2020, is the first black woman to hold the position. Born in Oakland, California, Harris was born to immigrant parents. His mother was born in India and his father came to America from Jamaica. Before Harris, two women had run for vice president twice in the United States. Geraldine Ferraro from the Democratic Party in 1984 and Sarah Palin from the Republican Party in 2008 ran for the vice presidency. But both of them could not win the election.

In the 2020 election, Harris challenged Biden for the presidential nomination. But with the exit from the presidential candidate race, Biden selected him as the vice presidential candidate. At the time, Biden called Harris "a brave warrior and America's finest employee." According to the BBC, Biden's departure from the presidential race has various meanings. Four years ago, Biden said that the decision to make Harris vice president was the most appropriate action he had ever made.

Harris has also said that she feels honored to have Biden's support and will do her best to become the party's candidate. That means most Democratic leaders are expected to accept the president's decision and stand by Harris. It seems that most of the leaders will stand in favor of Harris to end the ongoing uncertainty within the party. California Governor Gavin Newsom said Harris was a "fearless, determined and tough candidate." He says that Harris is the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump.

The governors of California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and 26 Democrats including Elizabeth Warren, Brian Satz, Mark Warner, Mark Kelly, Alex Padilla, Patty Murray, Tina Stheim have endorsed Harris.

Similarly, there is former President Bill Clinton and his wife and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Many 'film stars and celebrities' have also supported Kamala Harris.

Former President Barack Obama, who plays an important role in the decision-making within the Democratic Party, has not said anything about the nomination of Harris. He published a statement and called Biden a "high class patriot". Harris also responded that Biden's decision was unpatriotic. Although important figures in the party have been put forward as presidential candidates, Harris' candidacy still has to wait four weeks. The Democratic National Convention, which will be held from August 19 to 22, will make a formal decision on the party's presidential candidate selection.

According to a report, out of about 4,000 representatives of the party, 531 people have stood in his favor. According to Al Jazeera, they are from Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and other states. Harris would be the first black woman to run for the US presidency if the party convention chose a candidate. And it is estimated that it can be dangerous for the Democratic.

Polls show that Harris will be as weak as Biden in a fierce competition with Donald Trump. Recent polls show Harris slightly behind Trump. There are various reasons for that. Some have also questioned Harris's role as vice president.

As vice president, some of the steps he took to solve the immigration crisis on the US-Mexico border were criticized as wrong. Also, she was the Biden administration's point person on abortion rights. In recent elections, the issue of abortion has become stronger in Democratic-dominated states. Biden did less lobbying on this issue.

According to Harris's campaign, within 24 hours of Biden's announcement, the vice president received $80 million in donations. This is the largest single-day donation by any candidate in the US this election. In addition to that, she will be able to use US$100 million previously in the funds of the 'Biden-Harris campaign'. Raising enough money for Harris' campaign is itself a matter of energizing the Democratic Party ranks.

Trump's candidacy on behalf of the Republicans has been passed by the party's national convention. The party chose Trump as its presidential candidate five days after a fatal shooting occurred during an election rally in Pennsylvania. Trump has become the first Republican candidate to be nominated for three consecutive presidential elections and the second leader to be nominated for the presidency for the third time. Previously, Richard Nixon was a presidential candidate in 1960, 1968 and 1972.

The Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 15 to 18 promoted their populist agenda and criticized President Joe Biden. But recent developments show that Republicans are targeting the wrong people. With Biden out of the election race, Republicans have had to change the election plan that Trump led. In particular, Republicans tried to attract young voters by highlighting Biden's age. But now the Democratic candidate is much younger than Trump.

After Biden had to withdraw from the presidential race due to his age, now that question is sure to shift towards the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Current President Biden was 78 years and 61 days old when he took office on January 20, 2021. The leaders of his own party have been raising questions about his performance, memory, health, etc., who is now 81 years old. It also includes senior Republican leaders, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson.

Leaders including Johnson, who have been telling Biden that he should step down based on age, are sure to be hit by sharp questions from Democratic leaders. Trump, who turned 78 on June 14, will be 82 years and 7 months old at the end of his term if elected. Therefore, Donald Trump's election campaign seems to be on the defensive in the new situation after Biden's exit.

(with help from agencies)