Democratic break: Kamala Harris enters the game (estimates and forecasts of European media)
It happened Joe Biden has become the first president in 56 years to drop out of a re-election campaign because of a reputational debacle in a debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump. His support among the public fell significantly and quite naturally caused pressure from his fellow democrats, who sought to convince their leader to refuse to participate in the elections. The president announced his decision on Twitter/X. Half an hour passed, and Biden announced his support for Kamala Harris as his successor.
The touched vice-president wrote on social networks that she intends to deserve and win this nomination. At the same time, the head of the Democratic Party, Jaime Garrison, promised to conduct a transparent and orderly process of finding a new candidate.
In turn, Biden demonstrated the seriousness of his intentions not only rhetorically, but also financially: a few hours after he abandoned his candidacy for re-election, the campaign fund was renamed “Harris for President.”
Someone sighed with relief, someone, on the contrary, tensed up at the prospect of the presidency of a woman who came to break the glass ceiling of American politics and challenge the sexism, racism and ambiguous interpretation of its political history that has already developed.
Political waves and reactions
Barack Obama has called Biden “one of the most powerful presidents in America,” but has not endorsed Harris and hinted at an open nomination process at next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Hillary and Bill Clinton quickly endorsed Harris, as did most prominent Democrats, including potential challengers such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Democratic donors also came to life. ActBlue, a liberal political committee, announced it had raised $27.5 million from small donors following Biden’s resignation and his endorsement of Harris.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was a major figure in pressuring Biden, spoke favorably of his exit from the race.
Donald Trump, quite expectedly, mocked Biden, saying that he is “unfit to run for president and certainly not fit to serve.”
Independent Senator Joe Manchin, a center-right politician who left the Democratic Party, is considering re-registering to run for president.
In European countries, where the American presidential race is closely followed, Biden’s move was mixed. While applauding his courage to withdraw from the election campaign, at the same time, there were different opinions about the proposed Democratic candidacy for the potential new American president. The ability of Kamala Harris to effectively solve complex international problems, such as relations with Russia and China, or the settlement of conflicts in the Middle East, was questioned.
Biden and Harris are in the focus of the European press
On the morning of July 22, the European media exploded with a series of reactions, assessments, and forecasts.
A leading British publication The Guardian writes about Joe Biden with warmth, piety and deep understanding. David Smith, the newspaper’s Washington bureau chief, cites an eloquent fact from history:
“According to legend, when King George III learned that George Washington, the first president of the United States, had decided to retire after his second term, he remarked: ‘If he does, he will be the greatest man in the world.’ The journalist is convinced of the correctness of the selfless decision of Biden, who could not, having saved democracy in 2020, sacrifice it by putting his own ambitions on the altar in 2024.
Leading Polish publication “Gazeta Wyborcza” writes about the endorsement of Kamala Harris as the new Democratic presidential candidate by 50 state Democratic Party chairs.
He is echoed by an authoritative Polish newspaper “Common Thing”, emphasizing the importance of support for Kamala Harris not only from authoritative politicians, but also from financial sponsors. The money raised for Biden will now go to her presidential campaign, which can be seen as a guarantee of her success.
German edition The world supports Joe Biden’s initiative to withdraw from the presidential campaign. However, he suggests that Kamala Harris may not be able to handle this post, because her weakness was evidenced by her failure as a presidential candidate in 2019 and her activities as Biden’s vice president.
Another high-quality German publication also expresses a similar opinion Frankfurter Allgemaine Zeitung, which calls Kamala Harris an absolute favorite among Democrats, but also reminds of the “shadow” cast on her reputation during the vice presidency under Biden.
French edition The world writes about Kamala’s historic opportunity to become the first black woman elected to the White House. At the same time, the newspaper warns against organizing intra-party races, because this can lead to many problems and splits within the party, which is on the verge. Democracy in a vacuum, less than four months before the presidential election, will make for exciting television spectacle but too much political risk for many members of the Democratic Party.
Leading Finnish publication Helsingin sanomat newspaper expresses doubts about the success of Kamala Harris’s candidacy, appealing to Maria Linden, a researcher at the Center for the Study of American Politics and Power at the Foreign Policy Institute. Among the arguments is Kamala’s background, in fact, the fact that she represents a large number of groups of people who traditionally do not enjoy political power. Second, the problem, according to Linden, is that Harris represents the current administration. Instead, the US needs political change.
