HOW CAN THE DEMOCRATS OUST BIDEN?
Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate has sparked panic among Democrats, with senior party leaders casting around for the best way to replace him as the party’s nominee.
The Democrat leader took on Donald Trump in a 90-minute clash that saw the 81-year-old freeze several times as he struggled to address questions from the moderators.
It is close to impossible at this stage for Democrats to compel Mr Biden to stand aside.
Mr Biden won almost all the delegates from the 50 states that held Democratic primaries to choose the candidate for the 2024 elections.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has backed Mr Biden firmly throughout the primaries. He picked both the chair and vice-chair of the group.
The US president can only be replaced if he chooses to exit the race himself.
Party leaders he trusts - including Congressman Jim Clyburn, who encouraged him to run in 2020 - could apply significant pressure on the president to voluntarily withdraw.
Many Democrats view the role of Jill Biden as crucial. She has the ear of the president more than any aide or ally.
In the aftermath of the debate, the president’s wife showed no sign of backing down - she guided him down the stairs off the stage, then praised him, saying “you did such a great job answering every question. You know all the facts”.
She has said she will never push him to do anything with his political career, but instead follow his lead.
However, her opinion on the matter may change amid the wholesale panic in Democrat circles.
All eyes are now on the Democrat National Convention on Aug 19.
If Mr Biden does not decide to withdraw, more than half of the delegates he won in the primary race would have to break from him and back another candidate. They are not legally bound to support him - but that number turning on him is thought a vanishingly small probability.
If Mr Biden does decide to withdraw, the delegates that back him would be free to vote for another candidate in an open nominating process.
‘Messy process’
The natural choice is his vice president, Kamala Harris, whom he would be likely to endorse. But she polls even worse than Mr Biden.
Gavin Newsom, the Left-wing governor of California, is often mooted as a possible replacement. But others who could join the race include Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan or Sherrod Brown, the Ohio senator who is the last Democrat in office in a firmly red state.
The process could be prolonged, with multiple rounds of voting, unless Democrats unite around an alternative ahead of the convention.
“It would open up the whole field,” says Garry South, a longtime Democratic strategist. “You would have multiple candidates in August running for the nomination” in a “messy process that would almost guarantee we lose in November.”
How far these alternatives remain united behind Mr Biden in the wake of this debate will be closely watched.
Having all backed the president, they are thought unlikely to come out swinging and openly challenge him.
Even if they were to replace him as the Democrat nominee, there would be huge practical and financial issues from joining the race so late.
Only Mr Biden currently has the war chest to run ads, hold events, and hire staff for a major campaign.
2024-06-28T04:42:36Z dg43tfdfdgfd