Saturday’s Shooting Has Given A Further Boost To Trump Campaign
By Debabrata Biswas from Boston
The narrow escape of the Republican candidate Donald Trump from the gunshot at the campaign meeting in Pennsylvania on Saturday has imparted a more confrontationist dimension to the Presidential elections scheduled on November 5. The shooting incident just on the eve of the four day Republican convention beginning on July15 has given further ammunition to aggressive Trump to galvanise his supporters against the Democratic nominee President Joe Biden.
Already after his disastrous performance in the debate on June 27, President Biden is under big pressure from the Democratic Party ranks including senior leaders for stepping down on his own as the American people are questioning his cognitive capability to head the nation for another four years, but Biden is sticking to his position that he is fit- the debate performance has nothing to do with his capability. His performance as the president in the current term is there for the electors to judge..
Even before the shooting incident, Donald Trump was ahead of Joe Biden in almost all opinion polls, particularly in all the swing states. In this atmosphere, Biden camp is facing a further hit due to the nationalistic upsurge among the white Americans following the shooting incident. It is apparent that the support base for Trump will further grow at the cost of Biden.
During the June 27 debate, Biden lost his train of thoughts and gave an incoherent answer to a question, often struggled to form proper responses and had to correct himself repeatedly. He spoke with a hoarse voice and seldom reacted when Trump was spewing lies after lies, often standing with a blank stare. His age was showing itself. By the end of 90 minute debate, the Democratic Party was reportedly in panic mode, with operatives, lawmakers and donors privately discussing replacing Biden on the ticket. Left leaning medias who have close relationships with Biden , from MSNBC ‘s Joe Scarborough to the New York Times’ Thomas Friedman publicly suggested he should bow out of the race in the wake of June 27 debate.
But the practicality of replacing Biden with another candidate mostly depends on Biden himself. Much of America locked into the classic ” will he or won’t he “. Cliffhanger. Will Biden step aside himself and not run for re election, as massive majority of voters (67% ) have said they want him to do ? Or will he persist in pursuing one of the most ill fated and ill advised presidential campaign ever carried out?
“The radical left Democratic Party is divided in chaos and having a full scale breakdown” — said Donald Trump during a rally in Miami on Jul 9. Republicans are naturally gleeful after the debate. But instead of Biden, they ramp up attacks on Kamala Harris, the Vice President as talk of replacing Biden on 2024 ticket intensified. Trump and his allies have even rolling out new attack lines against Harris , insulting her abilities , pointing her as Biden’s chief enabler and accuses her of being part of a cover up of his health . Trump gave her a new nickname — Laffin’ Kamala Harris.
There is a growing concern and dissent inside the Democratic Party over Biden’s candidacy So far one Senator, Peter Welch of Vermont dropped his support for Biden with possibility of some others to follow. On the same day Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer reportedly told donors, he is open to another nominee besides Biden. — while publicly insisting — I am with Joe . About a dozen House Democrats have called Biden to abandon the race for reelection. Rep. Scott Peters (California), Schneider (Illinois), Hillary Scholten (Michigan) and some other prominent House Representatives call Biden to leave the race. Stanton (Arizona) is the latest House Rep. saying “It’s time to pass the torch to new leaders.”
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told his colleagues that he plans to relay the concerns to Biden himself though Jeffries has publicly backed Biden so far. But seeming doubt from former House speaker Nancy Pelosi prompted a fresh wave of outcry and concern. On her appearance on MNSBC she said — ‘ It is up to the President to decide if he is going to run’.
The public concerns and hits keep coming. Supporters and donors of the party are worried. Most recently Hollywood actor George Clooney, a personal friend of Barack Obama, who just hosted fundraiser for Biden in Los Angeles, wrote an op-ed in New York Times saying Democrats need to pick a different candidate, All America United Auto Workers’ Union president Shawn Fain and Association of Flight Assistants ‘ president Sara Nelson, two of the biggest union allies of President Biden, privately expressed serious concern about Biden’s candidacy. Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, a potential replacement for Biden, said Biden should take a cognitive test.
Despite Biden’s effort to quell dissent and keep the party unified behind his candidacy, Congressional Democrats are saying both privately and publicly that the party is badly fractured on the issue and continuing to raise concerns that he will lose in November and take down the House and the Senate with him.
A handful of Democrats, in the meantime, are still defending Biden. Senator John Fetterman (Da-PA), Chris Murphy (D-CONN) and Alexandria Occasia Cortez (D-Ny) are very much active and vocal in Biden’s support. Senator Bernie Sanders’ written remarks acknowledged that Biden 81 ” may not be the ideal candidate’,’ but added that “he will be the candidate and should be the candidate “. — “It’s time for the Democrats to stop the bickering and nit- picking”.
Very recently Bernie Sanders wrote an op-ed in New York Times that president Biden is ” the strongest candidate to defeat Donald Trump “.
Facing a political crisis as Democrats question the viability of his campaign and mental fitness, Biden was put to test on his solo unscripted news conference on July 11. His press conference at the end of the NATO summit went better than his debate. He did some gaffes. He referred Zelensky of Ukraine at the summit as president Putin. He mixed up names, called his vice- president as vice- president Trump. Democrats are worried. Some more Congressmen like Jim Hines (D-Conn) and Erik Soren (D-Illinois) gave statement calling Biden to drop out — “The President and his team will see this ( news conference) as a huge success, while everyone else will see this as just another example that he is just too past his prime time to win.” One pollster said- I don’t think he can withstand what is coming”.
But President Biden answered tough questions in a better way on foreign policy — wars in Ukraine and Gaza Strip. On his mental fitness, he defended his decision to stay in the race, saying “we have got to finish this job because there’s so much at stake”. During an interview with ABC News Biden said that ‘ only the Lord Almighty would drive him out from the race.’ Biden ties up with Trump despite the debate, while 67 % of the voters call for the president to drop out, — a recent poll by ABC news said.
Biden won the Democratic primaries earlier this year but would not officially become the party’s candidate for 2024 election until endorsed at 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which would take place on August.19 to 22. Any replacement is not that easy. There is formal mechanism to replace him as a presumptive nominee and such a move would be the first time a US political party has attempted in modern times. During the 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson rescued himself from contesting for the second term willingly and the Democratic Party had to put another candidate after much scramble and lost. But the situation then was different.
In effect Biden would have to agree to step aside and allow the delegates he won in the primaries — who vote to nominate a candidate at the Chicago convention — to choose someone else in his place. About 700 party insiders, who may not be united, would have the choice of picking a new candidate. They would then have only three months to unite behind and campaign for the new candidate for November 5 election, which is a very tough task.
According to the political observers, in case President Biden is not granted a second term at the August convention by the Democratic Party delegates, the five probable candidates are present vice president Kamala Harris, California Governor Newscom, Illinois Governor J B Pritzker, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
But the only candidate who could beat Trump hands down is Michelle Obama, wife of former president Barack Obama. Her polling rate with almost all the agencies is 57% against Trump’s 37%. But she said repeatedly that she will never run for presidency and doesn’t want the job. Now all focus will be on Chicago convention of Democratic Party which will decide the fate of President Biden’s candidacy for the second term. (IPA Service)
Originally published at Arabian Post.
