Joe Biden completely recast the 2024 election and Donald Trump can't handle it

Democrats were able to take bold action. Republicans are still embracing a fascist, who's having a full-blown meltdown.

President Biden did something Donald Trump could never do: give up power.

He listened to members of his own party, people who weren’t afraid to speak up.

That’s the opposite of what happens in the GOP, where Trump silences anyone who challenges him, threatening political annihilation, the hallmark of an authoritarian.

And now, as Biden announced he was dropping out of the race while focusing on important issues for the remainder of his successful presidency, we can all get behind a historic candidate for president, Vice President Harris, someone who will energize voters and transform this presidential race.

Already, Democrats have raised a torrent of money from online small donors—over $50 million as of last night. It was the biggest online haul from small donors since 2020, showing the enormous excitement.

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Yes, these last few weeks and the process surrounding them were messy and drawn out, taking up precious time. We weren’t in agreement about what was playing out. Many of us went back and forth in the span of a few days—or even a few hours. It was also often enraging and heartless, as a sensational corporate media inflamed the discussion for its own purposes. I was certainly outspoken about that, as were many of you.

But we’ve come to a great place.

First off, the drawn-out process—which mostly was about Biden coming to a decision that certainly had to be made deliberately and with care—wound up benefiting Democrats and hurting Trump. He chose JD Vance, going full MAGA extremist and Project 2025-backed in his VP running mate selection. He was cocky and confident that Biden wasn’t leaving the ticket. He would have chosen someone who highlighted diversity or was part of the GOP establishment if he believed Biden was stepping down and endorsing Harris.

Better yet, Trump’s entire campaign and the entire Republican National Convention have been wasted, as they were focused on a candidate who is no longer running. He’s even now whining about having spent all his money on Biden. Poor baby.

We also seem to have dodged the suggestions of a “mini-primary” and a chaotic battle at the Democratic convention. There is simply no time left for that. As the days went on, more Democratic leaders came behind supporting Harris if Biden dropped out, as a consensus was built. It helped to alleviate fears of disunity and a party in disarray at an open convention in August.

There will likely still be an open convention-like process and voting by the over 4000 delegates, as Democratic leaders heed the advice of those who say this shouldn’t be a coronation by the few hundred members of the Democratic National Committee.

But other potential candidates, named in recent weeks by those calling on Biden to drop out, took themselves out of the running. Governors Gavin Newsom, Wes Moore, and Gretchen Whitmer made that clear, while Governors Josh Shapiro, Andy Beshear and Roy Cooper quickly endorsed Harris, as did Cabinet Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. They are all potential running-mate contenders, with Shapiro, Whitmer, Cooper, and Kelly reportedly under the most serious consideration.

So Harris will not have any real competition—even as Joe Manchin laughably announced he may re-register as a Democrat to run for the nomination, only to backtrack on the idea this morning—and Harris comes with a campaign war chest and, most powerfully, Biden’s endorsement, which the majority of delegates will surely honor. Already, at least five state delegations to the DNC announced they unanimously backed Harris as the candidate, as did all 50 Democratic state party chairs.

I know there’s lots of disagreement, angst, and sadness among many about the pressure put on Biden to drop out. I was in fact among those who two weeks ago were saying we needed to get behind Biden, as he’d made it clear he was not leaving the race and we needed to focus on Trump. And many were annoyed that the discussion continued even after Biden said he was staying in.

But I trust that almost everyone involved has been acting in good faith (except for the corporate media). Trump is an existential threat. Concerned people, from the donors and members of Congress to the rank and file of the party, had different opinions about what would be the least risky path. Many believed Biden should stay in, viewing that as less risky, while others pushed for a replacement, seeing that option as offering a reboot. And it was debated in the open for over three weeks.

This is where that’s all come now, and everyone should get behind Harris. And let’s be clear that it happened because Biden, and Biden alone, made a selfless decision to put the country ahead of himself based on data about the race and what he was being advised. That shows him to be a patriot in addition to having had one of the most successful presidencies in history, one which Harris, as a member of that administration, can build on in a new presidency.

Don’t buy all of the palace intrigue stories in the media about Biden “seething” in recent days at his beach house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, “digging in” and refusing to drop out—stories based on unnamed sources and reported even as late as Sunday morning, just hours before he announced he was leaving.

We now learn—from the same media that pushed those narratives, mainly the New York Times—that Biden was in fact preparing his letter to the American people announcing he was leaving the race all day Saturday, even as the reports of him being “dug in” were circulating well into Sunday afternoon just before his announcement.

The president saw polling and other data that made it clear to him that he needed to make a move. Biden saved us from Trump in 2020, and he now passes the torch to a candidate who makes history, who would become the first woman and Asian American, and the second Black person, to become president.

Biden is not stepping down because of cognitive decline—contra the ridiculous claims of those in the GOP now saying he can’t run the country if he can’t run for president—but rather because of shaky support in polls (in his case, because of a very bad debate that exacerbated the situation). This is what President Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1968—another enormously successful one-term president—and what other presidents did after they saw support dwindling. So it’s nothing new, and the president can certainly run the country for the remainder of his term.

This is a fresh start, and, as I said, the excitement is reflected in the amount of money Harris raised from small donors—and the big donors who were worried about Biden—in less than 24 hours.

And Donald Trump is very worried.

As I noted, he picked JD Vance, an extremist in his positions and a bit of a dud in his oratory and campaign skills, thinking Biden was the candidate. He stupidly listened to his two not-very-bright sons, Eric and Don Jr., who were charmed by Vance, who is a tool of the man who bankrolled him, tech billionaire Peter Thiel. The Vance pick was lauded by the leaders of Project 2025, who excuse Trump’s crimes and would help him commit more as they work with him to consolidate power.

Trump again tried in vain to distance himself from Project 2025 at a rally on Saturday in Michigan, deathly afraid of the connection. And after Biden’s announcement on Sunday, he showed how petrified he is of Harris, already pushing back against debating her.

His fear drove him to write ugly, panic-laden posts on Truth Social attacking Biden and Democrats, which had critics saying he was “shitting his pants” in an overnight meltdown. Even the far-right Wall Street Journal editorial page criticized Trump in an editorial, headlined: “Trump Gives an Assist to Democrats: His reaction to Biden’s decision was small-minded and divisive”:

The 2024 election is Donald Trump’s to lose, and he may yet manage it. That was our reaction to his splenetic outburst on Sunday after President Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race.

It should have been an opportunity to show some class and judgment by welcoming the decision, warning U.S. adversaries not to take advantage of Mr. Biden’s last few months in office, and saying Vice President Kamala Harris will have to defend Mr. Biden’s failed record. Short and presidential, with a unifying tone.

Not Donald Trump. On Truth Social on Sunday after the announcement, the former President posted this: “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president and is certainly not fit to serve—and never was! . . .” And on down from there. 

We realize Mr. Trump is frustrated that he won’t be able to run against Mr. Biden.

The biggest doubt voters have about Mr. Trump is that he’s a divisive, vindictive man who is unable to speak for all Americans. He had a chance on Sunday to show he was capable of more, but he didn’t rise to the occasion. 

Trump, of course, will never “rise to the occasion,” as he is incapable of it. The WSJ editorial page knows this, even as they hope against all hope.

And “frustrated” isn’t the word I’d use to describe his reaction to not running against Biden. He is, rather, immensely frightened.

Trump is now the oldest candidate in the race, one showing mental decline as he fumbles sentences, confuses names, makes non-sensical comments about “the late, great Hannibal Lecter," and is an overall rambling, low-energy mess. That was clear in his sleepy yet hateful and ultimately disastrous acceptance speech at the convention—and it’s why he’s not campaigning a lot—which completely upended the convention’s bogus unity theme.

Trump thought running against Biden, and using the media’s one-sided obsession with Biden’s age, would insulate him. Now he’s exposed, as all the focus will be on his fumbles in addition to his authoritarianism.

The entire MAGA world is, in fact, angry and fearful, railing on social media and attacking Democrats and Biden. And Trump’s campaign officials are worried. Per Axios:

Some of [Trump’s] advisers are quite concerned that a fresh, youthful, non-Biden ticket presents a bigger threat than Trump assumes…the Trump team's biggest concern, and some early polling flicks at why, is that Harris would help turn out more women, who historically vote in greater numbers than men. Harris, armed with Democrats’ abortion message, which worked well in off-year elections — could leverage the nation's gender divide.

Be fully prepared that they will be working hard to demonize Harris. Democrats have got to define her before Trump and the GOP does. The good news is that she’s already a high-profile figure who has truly grown in the past year, on the campaign trail and in her public profile.

The contrast now couldn’t be clearer: a convicted felon and his enablers vs. a former prosecutor and her fighters for justice. It’s autocracy vs. democracy.

If some voters, as the polls suggested, disliked Trump but were reticent about Biden because of his age and the debate performance, they now have a new choice: a woman who will be making the case against Trump on reproductive rights, racist bigotry, and democratic freedoms.

It’s time to rally everyone, get energized for this fight, and beat Donald Trump.