Is it because he feels too old? That he is now convinced that he cannot win against Trump? Joe Biden will speak about the reasons that motivated him to withdraw from the race and pass the torch to Kamala Harris in a solemn speech on Wednesday.
The Democratic president chose a prime time slot, 8 p.m. (0000 GMT), to address Americans on one of the biggest political upheavals in the country’s modern history.
This speech, given from the Oval Office of the White House, will undoubtedly be one of the most important when the time comes to take stock.
The octogenarian leader will explain why he decided on Sunday, through a simple letter published on X, to throw in the towel and not run for a second term, after having repeatedly stated that he wanted to go all the way in the race.
Fresh out of nearly a week of confinement in his seaside home due to Covid, Joe Biden appeared weakened on Tuesday as he stepped off the plane taking him back to the White House.
The 81-year-old Democrat’s health is obviously on everyone’s mind, since it was concerns about it that prompted his camp to call on him to drop out of the race.
Harris in Indiana
Kamala Harris during a speech in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 23, 2024 / KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP
His vice-president, Kamala Harris, immediately entered the race for the White House, replacing Joe Biden at short notice.
She will be traveling to Indianapolis, in the center of the country, on Wednesday.
With a large number of supporters, she is now almost certain to win the nomination in August and officially become the Democratic candidate for the presidential election on November 5.
And it was an enthusiastic and dynamic first campaign speech that she delivered on Tuesday in Wisconsin, sharpening her arguments on the right to abortion, to medical coverage for all, and to parental leave.
“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or in a country of chaos, fear and hatred?”she cried, accusing her opponent of being in the pay of billionaires and of seeking to weaken the middle class.
The former prosecutor also emphasized the myriad of legal cases surrounding Donald Trump, and set to music the score now played by the Democratic camp: “the prosecutor against the criminal”.
Trump plows the ground
Donald Trump at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 18, 2024 / Jim WATSON / AFP
His Republican opponent continues to tread the electoral terrain, capitalizing on the unifying effect of his party’s convention in Milwaukee, which officially inaugurated him as a candidate last Thursday.
He will hold a campaign rally Wednesday night in North Carolina before addressing an association of ultra-conservative youth Friday in Florida.
The septuagenarian will then fly to Minnesota, a state in the Great Lakes region, for an event with his new running mate, JD Vance.
For four days, Donald Trump enjoyed the spectacle of a Republican Party in perfect working order behind his third candidacy for the White House.
But the former president is now forced to rethink entire sections of his electoral strategy, which until now has largely focused on establishing himself as an energetic leader in the face of a declining Joe Biden.
The Republican candidate has already committed to debating with Kamala Harris, and has assured that he would be ” easier “ to win against her in November.
The few polls published since the vice president entered the race are rather mixed on the question, placing the two candidates neck and neck.
