A political earthquake occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, July 21st when the incumbent 46th president Joe Biden made the unprecedented decision to drop out of the upcoming presidential race a mere three and a half calendar months remaining until the general election is set to occur in November. Biden has faced serious political opposition from within his party since his disastrous debate performance on June 27th. Never before in a presidential election cycle has a debate been held so early as the first contest in late June this year, and Biden performed poorly. Biden struggled to answer questions and often appeared lost. Over 70% of voters stated that following the debate Biden was unfit to remain serving as president. Biden had initially attempted to remain in the race and oppose those trying to push him out, but he eventually succumbed to the pressure in late July. Biden quickly endorsed Kamala Harris, his Vice President. Harris claimed she was ready to “earn” the Democratic nomination and in the days that have passed since the announcement she has raised tens of millions of dollars for her campaign. Additionally, Harris has already allegedly secured the support of over half the delegates required to win the nomination.
One celebrity took to social media to declare that the Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, would refuse a debate with Harris. Stephen King, the well-known horror author, claimed on “X” that Trump had already refused to debate Harris. This was quickly debunked and declared false. In recent polls, Harris appears to be faring slightly better in a contest against Trump than Biden. For example, in the state of Virginia where Biden and Trump were deadlocked in a near-tie, Harris has catapulted to a 5-point lead over Trump. Democratic voters in crucial swing states in the midwest also feel more confident with Harris as the nominee, and feel Trump can be defeated with Biden stepping aside.
