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Trump recalibrates campaign to take on Harris

In the U.S. presidential campaign, Republican candidate Donald Trump is facing a new opponent with President Joe Biden’s withdrawal as his party’s presumptive nominee. VOA’s Scott Stearns looks at how Trump’s campaign is recalibrating its approach to take on Vice President Kamala Harris.
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In Indianapolis, Harris addresses Black sorority, a key campaign mobilizer

WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Indianapolis on Wednesday, marking one of her first public appearances since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed her as the Democratic Party’s nominee on Sunday.

Harris is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at Zeta Phi Beta (ZPB) Sorority Inc.’s biennial convention in Indianapolis.

ZPB, founded in 1920 at Harris’ alma mater Howard University, is one of the nation’s largest historically Black sororities – social organizations with female-only memberships at colleges and universities whose purpose is to foster community, academic achievement and career development, among other things.

Earlier this month in Dallas, Texas, Harris spoke to more than 20,000 members and alumnae of her own sorority at Howard University, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., at its national convention.

Sorority figures play key roles in the group Win With Black Women, which organized a Zoom call with 44,000 attendees just hours after Biden endorsed Harris. The group said it raised more than $1.5 million for her campaign in just a few hours.

A similar effort by Win With Black Men raised more than $1 million, adding to the $100 million raised by the Harris campaign in less than 48 hours. This is in addition to money raised by political action committees separate from the campaign. The largest one, the Future Forward PAC, reported $150 million in commitments in the first 24 hours.

Sororities and fraternities

There are nine historically Black sororities and fraternities, their male equivalent, known as the “Divine Nine.”

Sororities and fraternities are among the most important networks in the African American community, said Steve Phillips, founder of the political media organization Democracy in Color, and author of several books on demographic shifts in the American electorate.

“Members are passionate, energetic and engaged throughout their entire lives,” he told VOA, so these pre-existing and highly involved groups can swiftly emerge as formidable campaign resources.

“We saw some of this with Obama in 2007 and 2008, and I expect it to be another order of magnitude fundraising and volunteering with Harris,” he said.

Sororities are pathways to another key resource – Black female celebrities.

These groups are actively recruiting notable figures and celebrities as honorary members, said Samantha N. Sheppard, associate professor and chair of the Department of Performing and Media Arts at Cornell University.

With Hollywood big names including Kerry Washington, Viola Davis, Jennifer Lewis and others pledging support for Harris, the “groundswell of Black women celebrity activism” has already begun, she told VOA.

Harris’ run for the nation’s top job has energized African American voters, a key Democratic constituency whose enthusiasm waned when Biden was on top of the ticket. However, amid the rampant racist and sexist attacks on Harris online, they are also bracing themselves.

“It’s critical for Black women with platforms to work together to rise above the misogynoir that Harris will face,” Sheppard said.

Attacks are already being launched at Harris for traveling to Indianapolis and declining to preside over Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress, also happening Wednesday.

From Indianapolis, Harris heads to Houston, Texas, to speak in front of the American Federation of Teachers on Friday.
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Harris promises compassion over ‘fear and hate’ in debut campaign rally

MILWAUKEE — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris assailed Donald Trump on Tuesday at her first campaign rally since replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.

In a 17-minute speech, Harris went after Trump’s vulnerabilities, comparing her background as a former prosecutor to his record as a convicted felon.

Harris ticked through a list of liberal priorities, saying that if elected she would act to expand abortion access, make it easier for workers to join unions, and address gun violence, drawing a sharp contrast with Trump, the Republican nominee for president in the November 5 election.

“Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” she told a cheering crowd of several thousand at West Allis Central High School in a Milwaukee suburb in Wisconsin, a battleground state with a pivotal role in deciding the election outcome.

“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate?”

The raucous rally was a notable contrast to the smaller, more subdued events Biden held, underscoring Democrats’ hope that Harris, 59, can revive what had been a flagging campaign under Biden, 81. The audience danced and waved Harris signs, while chants of “Ka-ma-la!” broke out when she took the stage.

She emphasized her commitment to reproductive rights, an issue that has plagued Republicans since the U.S. Supreme Court — powered by three Trump-appointed justices — eliminated a nationwide right to abortion in 2022.

Trump and his allies have tried to tether Harris to some of Biden’s more unpopular policies, including his administration’s handling of the surge of migrants at the southern border with Mexico.

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Trump expressed confidence in his ability to defeat Harris, noting that her previous presidential run in 2020 did not even survive until the first statewide nominating contest.

Trump offered to debate Harris multiple times. Trump and Biden had one more debate scheduled on September 10 after their encounter on June 27. Biden’s poor performance that night led to Democratic calls for him to step aside.

“I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different because they have the same policies,” Trump said.

Harris swiftly consolidated her party’s support after Biden abandoned his reelection campaign under pressure from members of his party who worried about his ability to beat 78-year-old Trump, or to serve another four-year term.

Harris has received pledges from enough delegates to win the nominations, the campaign said. But nothing is certain until next month’s Democratic National Convention, when the delegates will vote to determine the nominee.

Her campaign said it had raised $100 million since Sunday.

Most Democratic lawmakers have lined up behind her candidacy, including the party’s leaders in the Senate and House, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who endorsed Harris on Tuesday at a joint press conference.

Harris’ rise dramatically reshapes an election in which many voters were unhappy with their options. As the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president, she would make further history as the first woman elected U.S. president.

Wisconsin is among a trio of Rust Belt states, along with Michigan and Pennsylvania, that are critical to Democrats’ chances of defeating Trump.

Alyssa Wahlberg, 19, chair of the Whitewater College Democrats, said Harris had reenergized young voters, particularly women who want Harris to break the ultimate U.S. glass ceiling.

“I talked to my grandmom. We are both excited that she may live to see the first woman president,” said Wahlberg while attending Tuesday’s rally. “It’s taken too long.”
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Biden returns to White House as Harris soars on campaign

President Joe Biden returned to the White House Tuesday after an eventful news week that he spent entirely out of the spotlight – yet still managed to dominate with news of his exit from the presidential race. Meanwhile, his vice president hit the road launching her presidential campaign. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from the White House.
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Harris’ campaign starts search for running mate

washington — Who will she pick? That’s the big political question in America after U.S. President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has quickly collected a critical mass of Democratic Party support and funding.

The selection in question is Harris’ running mate, the person who would step into the role she will shed if the Democrats are victorious in November’s presidential election against Republicans Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm are vetting Harris’ potential vice presidential candidates, according to media reports.

The campaign has requested vetting materials from five Democratic governors — Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Tim Walz of Minnesota and J.B. Pritzker of Illinois — and one U.S. senator, Democrat Mark Kelly of Arizona, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Those who pass the vetting “will probably have a one-on-one conversation with Harris and then she’ll make a choice, probably in the week or so before the convention,” William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, told VOA. “The danger of an accelerated process is that you know things will be overlooked. Mistakes will be made that a more leisurely process would have prevented. But she has no choice. She has to do it fast and get it right.”

Quest to balance ticket

It “is most likely” that Harris, as the daughter of a Black father and a mother who emigrated from India, will choose a white man to be her number two, according to Joel K. Goldstein, a scholar of U.S. vice presidents and the Vincent C. Immel professor of law emeritus at the St. Louis University School of Law.

Geographical balance is another factor. Harris, who is from California, a solidly Democratic state, likely desires someone who can boost the party’s chance in one of the critical swing states — territory that spans westward from Pennsylvania to Michigan, as well as the southern state of Georgia.

“Someone from the Midwest or even from the South would be a good choice,” said Jay Chen, Democratic National Committee delegate from California and co-chair of Taiwanese Americans for Progress.

“Andy Beshear, he’s a governor from Kentucky. I think he would make a good choice. We want to make sure that we’re balancing out the ticket, because we have someone [Harris] from California,” said Chen. “I think we do have to make sure that folks in the Midwest on the East Coast from the South, that they don’t feel like they’re going to be ignored by this administration and this is an excellent opportunity to try to try to balance out the ticket.”

Historically, geographic balance “was perhaps the most common type of balance that you would see on tickets,” according to Goldstein. Nowadays, “the idea of geographic balance is not really as important a calculation as some other things.”

The governors of both Pennsylvania and Michigan, who are Democrats, endorsed Harris on Monday. That quashed any speculation that Shapiro or Whitmer might challenge Harris for delegates ahead of the party’s national nominating convention next month. It also appeared to automatically place them into consideration to be the vice presidential nominee.

Pennsylvania in play

Pennsylvania is practically a must-win for either party. The Keystone State offers 19 electoral votes — the most of any 2024 battleground state — of the 270 required to reach the threshold for victory in a U.S. presidential election.

In an on-air conversation about Shapiro, CNN chief national correspondent John King said the governor is a contender, but “he’s Jewish. There could be some risks with putting him on the ticket.”

Commentators on social media quickly responded that Harris may be hesitant to select Shapiro, who is a strong supporter of Israel, as he could jeopardize her chances in Michigan, where there has been a primary election backlash against the Biden-Harris ticket from Arab American voters because of the president’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas.

“It says a lot about the state of American politics, and perhaps especially in progressive circles that one of the ‘cons’ of Kamala Harris selecting” Shapiro as her vice president, is that he is Jewish and the pushback this might receive, Arsen Ostrovsky, CEO of the International Legal Forum, a global network of lawyers supporting Israel, wrote on X on Sunday.

Harris’ husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, is Jewish.

There has never been a Jewish president or vice president in the United States. Democrat Al Gore in 2000 selected a Jewish U.S. senator, Joe Liberman, as his running mate on the ticket that lost to Republican’s George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Jews comprise less than 3% of the American population but play an outsized role in academia, business, law, the U.S. Congress, popular culture and, as has been the case with other minorities, traditionally faced institutional discrimination. Antisemitism has resurged in recent years on both the far left and far right.

The Illinois governor is also Jewish. Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, runs a state that has a large bounty of 19 electoral votes and is considered reliably blue (Democratic).

Pritzker denied in an MSNBC interview on Tuesday that he had received a request for vetting materials from the Harris campaign. Asked if he is interested in running with her, he avoided giving a direct answer.

“I love being the governor of the state of Illinois, and I’ve been out on the campaign trail fighting hard for Democrats to win,” he responded.

A possible first

The governor of Michigan (15 electoral votes) on the ticket with Harris would present an unprecedented combination — female candidates for both president and vice president.

Whitmer on Monday dampened such speculation.

“No, I am not planning to go anywhere,” she told a reporter from WLNS TV on Monday, who asked Whitmer if she would be willing to accept an offer to join Harris on the party ticket. “I am not leaving Michigan.”

No other woman is known to be under consideration by the Harris campaign.

The Republicans once nominated a woman as their vice presidential candidate. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was selected by Senator John McCain in the 2008 election that saw Barack Obama, a Democrat, elected as the country’s first African American president.

The Democrats are also the only major party to have nominated a woman for president. Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state and the wife of former President Bill Clinton, won the popular vote in 2016, but Trump captured the most electoral votes, thus becoming president.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, was elected in 2016 and again in 2020, despite Trump winning the state on the same ballot both times. Cooper is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in the Tar Hill State, which holds 16 electoral votes.

Cooper was asked repeatedly during a Monday appearance on MSNBC whether he would consider the Number 2 spot if offered by Harris.

“I appreciate people talking about me,” he said, “But I think the focus right now needs to be on her this week.”

Then there is Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky (eight electoral votes), whose state some decades ago turned reliably Republican red in presidential contests. The last time a majority of Kentuckians chose a Democrat for president was in 1996, when Bill Clinton, successfully running for reelection, bested former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole in the Bluegrass State.

Some suggest a nonpolitician

Senator Mark Kelly is the sole non-governor known to be under consideration. Arizona is a Southwestern swing state with 11 electoral votes. A former Navy combat pilot and retired astronaut, Kelly is married to former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who resigned in 2012 due to severe brain injury caused by an assassination attempt.

There are suggestions Harris should think outside the box and choose a nonpolitician, such as a retired general, to bolster her chances with conservative-leaning independent voters concerned about Trump returning as commander-in-chief.

Law professor Goldstein, author of two books about the evolution of the role of the American vice presidency, does not expect that will happen.

“Every first-time vice presidential pick since 1940 has been either a current or former United States senator, governor, member of the House of Representative or a person who held high federal executive office,” he said. “So, it would be surprising if the choice was somebody who came from the military.”

These days, Goldstein told VOA, the primary consideration for selecting a vice presidential candidate is whether they have “the caliber that they are plausible as president, at least in the eyes of people who might support the ticket, or they have the stature and the ability [that] they can take on the sort of assignments that Vice President Harris has the last three and a half years.”

Stella Hsu and Kim Lewis contributed to this report.
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US voters face new presidential campaign

Voters in the United States are facing a new presidential campaign with incumbent Joe Biden dropping out and Vice President Kamala Harris likely to be the Democratic Party’s nominee to face Donald Trump in November. VOA’s Scott Stearns looks at how some voters are reacting to the change. VOA footage by Michael Eckels.
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Trump, Harris trade insults in newly energized US presidential campaign

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Democrats back Harris as both sides reset presidential race 

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Tally shows Harris has enough support to be Democratic Party’s candidate

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Biden continues to recover from COVID, stays out of public view after ending campaign

REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware — President Joe Biden’s “symptoms have almost resolved completely” from COVID-19, according to his physician, as the president on Monday remained out of public view for the fifth straight day.

Biden called into the Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters of his former campaign during a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris, whose bid for the White House has been endorsed by Biden. The president sought to pep up the staff, urging them to give “every bit” of their “heart and soul” to Harris. Biden also vowed to be “out on the road” campaigning for his vice president.

“If I didn’t have COVID, I’d be standing there with you,” said Biden, whose voice sounded a touch gravelly.

The president was last seen in public late Wednesday after arriving at a U.S. air base in Dover, Delaware, after testing positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas earlier in the day. He then motorcaded to his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said that the president had completed his 10th dose of the COVID-fighting medication Paxlovid on Monday morning and continued to perform all of his presidential duties.

“His symptoms have almost resolved completely. His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal,” O’Connor wrote. “His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.”

The White House said Biden received separate briefings on Monday from homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Both briefings were conducted virtually.

Biden’s public schedule for the week has remained clear as he recovers from the virus, but he said in his letter on Sunday that he planned to deliver an address to the nation this week to discuss his decision to end his candidacy.

According to his official schedule, Biden is planning to return to the White House on Tuesday.

Biden plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week, according to a person familiar with the president’s schedule who was not authorized to comment publicly.

Biden also plans to meet at the White House later this week with the families of Americans who are still being held hostage in Gaza, according to a statement from the group of families who met privately with Sullivan earlier Monday.

It would be the second time that Biden has met with the families. The families again publicly urged Israel and Hamas to come to an agreement on a cease-fire deal that would release their loved ones. Biden in late May proposed a three-phased deal aimed at returning remaining hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and could potentially lead to a permanent truce to end the nine-month war in Gaza.

“We’re going to keep working to an end to the war in Gaza,” Biden said during his call-in to the campaign headquarters. “I’ll be working really closely with the Israelis and with the Palestinians to try to work out how we can get the Gaza war to end, and Middle East peace, and get all those hostages home. I think we’re on the verge of being able to do that.”
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A look at Harris’ views on U.S. policy toward China

WASHINGTON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has not yet won the Democratic Party’s support for her presidential candidacy, but she has the endorsement of U.S. President Joe Biden, along with several senior Democrats, after his withdrawal from the race on Sunday.

If chosen by the party, and elected president, analysts agree Harris would likely continue the Biden administration’s foreign policy, including the management of one of the most tense and consequential relationships — that with China. 

When she first became vice president, Harris, a former U.S. senator and attorney general for California, was considered by many analysts to be somewhat of a novice in foreign policy. Over the past 3 ½ years as vice president, she has visited more than 19 countries and met with more than 150 foreign leaders, according to the White House website.

VOA compiled some of Harris’s remarks on China policy during her tenure as vice president and earlier as a U.S. senator.

US-China economic relations

In September 2023, Harris traveled to attend the ASEAN summit in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. After the meeting, she spoke about U.S.-China relations and Indo-Pacific policy on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

“We, as the United States, in our policy, it is not about decoupling, it is about de-risking. It is about understanding,” she said.

“It’s not about pulling out, but it is about ensuring that we are protecting American interests, and that we are a leader in terms of the rules of the road, as opposed to following others’ rules,” Harris said.

China’s economic downturn

“It’s no secret that China is experiencing economic problems,” she said during the “Face the Nation” interview.

“And what you will find — certainly in my conversations with American business leaders — is that they are looking at the future in terms of their capital investments and taking into account which countries are engaged in practices that are about abiding by the rule of law and international rules and norms in a way that they can be guaranteed that there will be some stability so they can make long-term investments.”

“There is increasingly an understanding that China may not be the best bet when you are looking for stability, when you are looking for an investment in a place where there is an adherence to and respect for international rules and norms,” Harris added.

International aid

During her visit to Africa in March 2023, at a news conference with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, Harris reiterated her call for “all bilateral official creditors to provide a meaningful debt reduction for Zambia” — an oblique reference to China, Zambia’s top foreign creditor. However, she stressed that “our presence here is not about China.”

US-China relations

Harris’ first meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping was at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok in 2022, when she held brief talks with Xi and stressed the importance of maintaining “open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.”

Taiwan

In a September 2022 meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Harris reaffirmed that the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan and oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo.

The White House said Harris underscored that the effort to preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an essential element of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. 

During a visit to Japan that same month, she said aboard the destroyer USS Howard at Yokosuka Naval Base, “We have witnessed disturbing behavior in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea, and most recently, provocations across the Taiwan Strait.”

China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province that must one day reunite with the mainland, by force if necessary, and often sends military air and watercraft nearby to assert its claim to the self-governing island. 

South China Sea

During her visit to Japan, Harris commented on China’s aggression in the South China Sea.

“China is undermining key elements of the international rules-based order. China has challenged the freedom of the seas. China has flexed its military and economic might to coerce and intimidate its neighbors,” she said.

“We will continue to fly, sail, and operate undaunted and unafraid wherever and whenever international law allows,” Harris added.

Beijing claims most of the South China Sea as its own, putting it in conflict with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Chinese ships on several occasions this year used water cannons and blocked its rivals’ ships in the disputed territories. 

Last year on “Face the Nation,” Harris said, “What is happening in terms of unprovoked actions against the Philippine interests in the South China Sea is significant and we have been very clear that we stand with the Philippines.”

Beijing and Manila on Sunday announced a deal they say aims to stop the clashes.

China’s human rights, Hong Kong

During her tenure as a U.S. senator for California, Harris actively pushed for legislation to uphold human rights in Hong Kong, which analysts say has seen its autonomy gradually stripped away by Beijing.  

In 2019, she co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio, which aims to promote human rights in Hong Kong and sanction officials involved in “undermining Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms and autonomy.” The bill was later signed into law by then-President Donald Trump.

Xinjiang

Harris also co-sponsored and facilitated the passage of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2019, which became law in 2020. The bill authorizes the United States to impose sanctions on “foreign individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations in Xinjiang,” China’s westernmost province that is home to the ethnic Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim minority.        

China denies there are any rights violations in Xinjiang.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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US voters surprised, encouraged by Biden quitting presidential race 

President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection has upended the U.S. presidential campaign just days after the opposing Republican Party formally chose Donald Trump as its nominee. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports on voters’ reactions to the shifting political landscape. Contributor: Nina Vishneva  Videographer: Michael Eckels
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After Biden quits presidential race, Trump, other Republicans demand he resign

Washington — Shortly after Joe Biden announced that he is withdrawing from the November presidential race on Sunday, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump demanded that Biden resign from office.

“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!” Trump said in a social media statement that included a new fundraising push.

Trump called Biden “the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation,” and said that Biden, “quit the race in COMPLETE DISGRACE!”

House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers loyal to Trump echoed Trump’s demands.

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson said in a statement.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, the fourth-ranking House Republican, added: “If Joe Biden can’t run for reelection, he is unable and unfit to serve as president of the United States. He must immediately resign.”

“If the Democrat party has deemed Joe Biden unfit to run for reelection, he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes. Biden must step down from office immediately,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer the No. 3 Republican in the chamber, said on social media.

Legally, Republican demands for Biden’s resignation have no bearing. The president has the authority to serve the remainder of his term, said Michael Thorning, director of Structural Democracy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“There is no constitutional requirement for a president to seek reelection in order to continue serving as president through the succeeding election and inauguration,” he told VOA.

The White House has not responded to VOA’s request for comment regarding the Republican demands.

Democrats heap praise

As of Monday morning, there have been no response from Democratic leaders to Republican calls for Biden to resign. But in response to his withdrawal from the race, they heaped praise on the president’s legislative track record and lifetime of service.

“Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader, but he is a truly amazing human being,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. “His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first.”

In a statement, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Biden “one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history.”

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi who reportedly was one of several lawmakers encouraging Biden to withdraw, called him a “patriotic American who has always put our country first.”

“His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history,” she said in a statement.

Biden’s decision to withdraw is a reminder “that he’s a patriot of the highest order,” former President Barack Obama said in a statement.

“Joe understands better than anyone the stakes in this election – how everything he has fought for throughout his life, and everything that the Democratic party stands for, will be at risk if we allow Donald Trump back in the White House and give Republicans control of Congress,” Obama added.

Playing politics

Republicans’ demands for Biden’s resignation have added turmoil to American politics following Biden’s announcement that have left the path forward for Democrats uncertain.

They are “playing politics,” Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said of the Republicans.

“Common sense tells us that Biden has two full-time jobs right now — being president and running for president,” Sabato told VOA. “Now he’ll have one full-time job, and he’s proven himself to be good at it. He can finish the remaining months and tie up some loose ends — and leave with dignity.”

Biden announced he was withdrawing from the Democratic presidential ticket in a letter to the country that he posted on social media Sunday afternoon. He said although he intended to stand for re-election, he believes “it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

The announcement reversed his decision about staying in the 2024 race amid mounting pressure from Democrats following his weak performance at last month’s debate against Trump.

With Biden stepping aside, the national attention now shifts squarely upon the Democratic Party, and they would do well to put this attention to good use, said William Howell, Sydney Stein professor in American politics at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

“They should showcase their talent, advertise their vision for the future, and do their very best to change the narrative of this presidential campaign,” he told VOA.

That’s a difficult task amid their opponent pushing a message of Democrats in disarray. Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic presidential nominee and said that he will speak more about his decision later this week.

In a statement released hours after Biden’s withdrawal announcement, the White House said that Biden has “spoken to a number of Members of Congress, governors, and supporters, and will continue to engage with key stakeholders tonight and tomorrow.”
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Biden’s last-minute exit sets up unpredictable new race with few parallels

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New Yorkers React to Biden Exiting Presidential race

Hours after 81-year-old President Joe Biden announced he was abandoning his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination, VOA spoke with Americans on the streets of New York about their reactions to the historic news.
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Democrats face new challenges after President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from 2024 campaign 

After weeks of speculation and intense pressure from within his own Democratic Party, U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor sent shockwaves across the nation Sunday. VOA’s Richard Green has more on how Biden’s withdrawal reshapes the 2024 race for the White House.
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US President Joe Biden ends reelection bid

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Biden’s decision to drop out crystalized Sunday; his staff knew one minute before the public did

WASHINGTON — At 1:45 p.m. Sunday, President Joe Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. At 1:46 p.m., that message was made public.

It was never Biden’s intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside Sunday, he was all in.

His campaign was planning fundraisers and events and setting up travel over the next few weeks. But even as Biden was publicly dug in and insisting he was staying in the race, he was quietly reflecting on the disaster of the past few weeks, on the past three years of his presidency and on the scope of his half-century career in politics.

In the end, it was the president’s decision alone, and he made it quietly, from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sick with COVID-19, the first lady with him as he talked it through with a small circle of people who have been with him for decades.

“This has got to be one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., the president’s closest ally in Congress, who spoke with him Sunday. “I know he wanted to fight and keep going and show that he could beat Donald Trump again, but as he heard more and more input, I think he was wrestling with what would be the best for the country,” Coons said in an interview with The Associated Press.

This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the president’s thinking over the past few weeks, days and hours as he made his decision. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.

Deciding to leave the race

It wasn’t until Saturday evening that Biden began to come to the conclusion that he would not run for reelection. He started writing a letter to the American people.

Biden had been off the campaign trail for a few days, isolated because of COVID-19, when it all started to deeply sink in — his worsening chances of being able to defeat Donald Trump with so much of his party in open rebellion, seeking to push him out of the race — not to mention the persistent voter concerns about his age that were only exacerbated by the catastrophic debate.

Biden was at his beach home with some of his and Jill Biden’s closest aides: chief strategist Mike Donilon, counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady.

By Sunday, his decision crystalized. He spoke multiple times with Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he would endorse. He informed White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, and his longtime aide and campaign chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon.

A small group of senior advisers from both the campaign and the White House were assembled for the 1:45 p.m. call to relay Biden’s decision, while his campaign staff released the social media announcement one minute later.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.

Just about a half-hour later came his public vote of support for Harris. It was a carefully choreographed strategy meant to give the president’s initial statement full weight, and to put a period on the moment before launching forward into the next step.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

About that debate

It’s not like things had been going great before the June 27 debate. In an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fully 77% of U.S. adults said Biden was too old to be effective for four more years. Not only did 89% of Republicans say that, but so did 69% of Democrats.

And it hadn’t gotten any better by April, when more than half of U.S. adults thought Biden’s presidency hurt the country on issues like the cost of living and immigration.

But Biden had insisted — to himself, to the nation, to his supporters — that he would be able to bring voters around if he got out there, told people about his record, explained it to them. Talked to them. Looked them in the eye.

He had a lifetime of experience that told him that if he stuck to it, he’d overcome. His campaign was so confident, in fact, that they arranged to go around the Commission on Presidential Debates to set up a series of faceoffs with Trump under a new set of rules.

That produced the June 27 debate that set Biden’s downfall in motion. Biden gave nonsensical answers, trailed off mid-sentence and appeared to stare blankly in front of an audience of 51 million people. Perhaps most distressing to other Democrats, Biden didn’t go after Trump’s myriad falsehoods about his involvement in the violence around the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, abortion rights or immigration.

Biden and his team blamed the night on so many different things. He had a cold. He was jet-lagged. He needed to get more sleep. That night opened the door for his party to push him out.

A slow acceptance

Publicly and privately Biden was fighting to stay in the race. He was working to convince voters that he was up for the task for another four years. He was frustrated by the Democrats coming out publicly against him, but even angrier about the leaks and anonymous sources relaying how even former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were working to get him to drop out.

It looked like he’d won out a couple times; the chorus of naysayers seemed to die down. He had some well-received speeches mixed with so-so TV interviews and a day featuring an extended news conference in which he displayed a nuanced grasp of policy but also committed a few gasp-inducing gaffes.

But the doubts didn’t go away.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eventually invited top Biden staff to a meeting on July 11 to talk about their concerns. It didn’t go well. Senators expressed their concerns, and almost none of them said they had confidence in the president. But even afterward, Schumer was worried it wasn’t getting to Biden.

Following the meeting, Schumer called Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Obama. Schumer decided that day to request a meeting with Biden.

At a July 13 meeting in Rehoboth, Schumer told Biden he was there out of love and affection. And he delivered a personal appeal focused on Biden’s legacy, the country’s future and the impact the top of the ticket could have on congressional races — and how that could potentially affect the Supreme Court. That same day came the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Schumer told the president he didn’t expect him to make an immediate decision, but he hoped Biden would think about what he said, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Biden responded, “I need another week,” and the two men hugged.

Sunday’s decision

It was full steam ahead until Biden pulled the emergency brake.

The president had lost his voice, but he was recovering well and his doctor had sent an update to the public shortly before 1 p.m. on his condition. His small circle decided to post the statement on X on Sunday, rather than let it leak out for days before he was prepared to address the nation, which he is expected to do sometime early this week.

Much of his campaign was blindsided, and it was clear by how little had changed after he dropped out. For hours after the announcement, Biden’s campaign website reflected that he was still running and KamalaHarris.com still redirected to Biden’s page.

Even Harris’ statement announcing her intent to succeed Biden was sent from “Joe Biden for President.”

After the public announcement, Zients held a senior staff call, sent out an email and spoke with Biden’s cabinet. The president was also making personal calls.

“Team — I wanted to make sure you saw the attached letter from the President,” Zients wrote in the staff email. “I could not be more proud to work for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the American people — alongside all of you, the best White House team in history. There’s so much more to do — and as President Biden says, ‘there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together.'”

Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat who had called for Biden to bow out, was gardening with his wife when the news broke, and said he was momentarily “stunned.” Senators texted each other questioning if it was really happening.

Democratic Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal was at an event in his state, and there was spontaneous applause when it was announced to the crowd that Biden wouldn’t run, he said.

There was a sense of excitement and energy in the crowd “that has been completely lacking,” Blumenthal said.

“It was also, let’s be blunt, a sense of relief,” he said. “And a sense of reverence for Joe Biden.”

By Sunday evening, Biden for President had formally changed to Harris for President.

O’Malley Dillon told campaign staff their jobs were safe, because the operation was shifting to a campaign for Harris.
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Vance brings conservatism, youth to Trump ticket

Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance was named the vice presidential candidate to presidential candidate Donald Trump. His policies mesh with the former president’s, but his background couldn’t be different. VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti shows us what Vance brings to the ticket. VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report. VOA footage by Mary Cieslak.
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Foreign leaders react to Biden dropping White House bid

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Trump campaign releases letter on shooting injury, treatment

NEW YORK — Donald Trump’s campaign released an update on the former president’s health on Saturday, one week after he survived an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The memo, from Texas Representative Ronny Jackson, who served as Trump’s White House physician, offers new details about the Republican GOP nominee’s injuries and the treatment he received in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Jackson said Trump sustained a gunshot wound to the right ear from a high-powered rifle that came “less than a quarter of an inch from entering his head and struck the top of his right ear.”

The bullet track, he said, “produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear.”

While the swelling has since resolved and the wound is beginning to heal properly, Jackson said Trump is experiencing intermittent bleeding, requiring the dressing that was on display at last week’s Republican National Convention.

“Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required,” he wrote.

Trump was initially treated by medical staff at Butler Memorial Hospital. According to Jackson, doctors “provided a thorough evaluation for additional injuries that included a CT of his head.”

Trump, he said, “will have further evaluations, including a comprehensive hearing exam, as needed. He will follow up with his primary care physician, as directed by the doctors that initially evaluated him,” he wrote.

“In summary, former President Trump is doing well, and he is recovering as expected from the gunshot wound sustained last Saturday afternoon,” he added.

The letter is the first official update about the former president’s condition since the night of the shooting.

Jackson, a staunch Trump supporter and Trump’s former doctor, said he met Trump in Bedminster, New Jersey, late Saturday after he returned from Pennsylvania.

He said he has been with Trump since that time, evaluating and treating his wound daily. That includes traveling with him Saturday to Michigan, where the former president held his first rally since the shooting, joined by his newly named running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

It is unclear whether Jackson is still a licensed doctor. A spokesperson for the congressman did not immediately provide a response and Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions.
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Republicans united on Trump, divided on abortion

During the Republican National Convention, which ended Thursday, delegates approved a political platform that barely mentions abortion — a stark contrast to previous party positions. VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman reports from the convention that this softer official stance on reproductive rights is aimed at making its candidate, Donald Trump, more appealing to undecided voters. VOA footage by Mary Cieslak.
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Democrats fear their other candidates may lose if Biden underperforms

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What happens if Biden drops out of presidential race?

Washington — With major donors reluctant to keep campaign funds flowing and more Democrats publicly saying that his chances of winning the November election are dwindling, U.S. President Joe Biden is reportedly coming closer to bowing out of the race.

As of Friday, there was no indication from the campaign nor the White House that Biden would drop out. But if he does, Democrats must make a swift decision on who would replace him on the top of their ticket, and how.

The most orderly scenario would be for Biden to endorse an alternative candidate and ask the delegates to transfer their pledged votes to him or her when they assemble next month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Historically, convention delegates vote for the candidate who won the primary or caucus in their respective states. Almost all 3,896 Democratic delegates are pledged to Biden after he swept nearly every primary and caucus contest in the country. But that “pledge” can be changed under DNC rules that allow for “good conscience” to determine delegate decisions.

Vice President Kamala Harris would be a logical choice to quickly coalesce delegate votes. She is already first in the line of presidential succession, and as part of the Biden-Harris ticket she would make sense financially.

Under campaign finance rules Harris is entitled to spend the Biden-Harris war chest, which stands at $91 million according to their last filing report in June.

Fifty-eight percent of Democrats think Harris would make a good president, according to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 30% percent of the public think she would. Forty-three percent of adults have a favorable opinion of her, including 74% of Democrats.

However, Democrats may also want to avoid the undemocratic appearance of an automatic coronation of Harris as Biden’s successor and hold some kind of contest.

Open convention

The party could hold an open convention and choose a nominee from among several candidates that could include California Governor Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

An open convention could be a tumultuous and divisive process, something Democrats would want to avoid two months before the election. Nominating someone other than Harris could also anger Black women, a core bloc of the party’s support.

The bottom line is, should the president step aside, Democrats must quickly figure out who replaces Biden and who is likely to win the election, said Larry Sabato, director of University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

“And that ought to be the same person,” he told VOA. “Whether they can do it in the time permitted — it’s a month — is another question entirely.”

Democrats must also decide who will be the running mate, a process that could create excitement and division in the party.

At separate occasions, Biden has said that the direst of polling results could get him to quit, or if there is a “medical condition that emerged,” or if the “Lord Almighty comes out and tells” him to.

The president remains in isolation in his vacation home in Delaware, following his COVID diagnosis earlier this week.
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How will the assassination attempt against Trump impact the election?

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Donald Trump accepts Republican nomination

The Republican National Convention ended Thursday night with a speech by the party’s official presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump. He had been in the audience watching the convention all week, but Thursday was his first public speech since he was the target of an assassination attempt last Saturday. VOA’s Senior National Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti brings us the sights and sounds from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kim Lewis and Tatiana Koprowitz contributed to this report.
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