US President Joe Biden is under pressure to drop his presidential bid from fellow Democrats after his disastrous debate against former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden has previously refused to drop out of the presidential race, believing he is fit to lead a federal government for four more years. However, he has been losing support within the Democratic Party as more and more Democrats are urging him to step down, according to reports. CNBC.
Also on Wednesday, it was revealed that Biden had contracted COVID-19. Just a day earlier, he had stated that if any medical condition arose, he would reconsider his decision to run for the White House.
As reports emerge of Biden withdrawing from the race, it is important to know whether the president is making the decision or whether the decision is made for him, and if he does step down, how will the Democratic Party handle the situation with the elections in November?
Biden won the primary and earned more than 4,000 delegates, automatically making him the Democratic nominee for the upcoming election. Delegates will vote for him virtually before the Democratic National Convention in August.
If Biden's campaign ends before delegates begin voting, then they could cast their votes for a new Democratic nominee. Democratic National Committee (DNC) rules state that if a candidate fails to secure a majority of votes, more than 700 superdelegates will cast subsequent votes. Voting will continue until one candidate wins a majority of delegates.
In another scenario, if Biden did not step down but died, resigned or became disabled after the convention, then DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison would hold a meeting with top congressional Democrats and then report back to the committee authorized to fill the position.
The pressure on Biden could possibly result in the more likely alternative being Vice President Kamala Harris being nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee, but like Biden, Harris' ratings have been in decline over the past four years she has been vice president.
Harris's declining popularity and public favorability has also prompted Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to say that those who want Biden to resign also want Harris out of the race: “If you think there's a consensus among those who want Joe Biden out that they will support Vice President Kamala Harris, you would be wrong,” she said during an Instagram live on Friday.
He added: “I'm in these rooms, I see what they say… many of them are not only interested in removing the president, they are interested in removing the entire group.”
