On Sunday evening Danish time, Joe Biden made the decision to withdraw as the Democratic presidential candidate. Although many had anticipated this development, there were several surprising elements in how the news was announced on the social media platform X. Jacob Heinel Jensen, the US correspondent for Berlingske, expressed his surprise at Biden’s method: “Everyone expected him to withdraw. But I am surprised at how he chose to do it. I might have expected him to call for a real meeting and make it a more formal moment. But on the other hand, everyone knew in advance what it was about.”
The background for Biden’s decision was pressure from a wide range of actors, from voters to donors and political partners, all of whom had urged him to step down. Jacob Heinel Jensen concludes that, in this situation, Biden “had no other options.” While the decision was not unexpected, the correspondent describes it as a “giant political earthquake in the American election campaign.” Until recently, it appeared that Donald Trump was strong, but Biden’s withdrawal has now made the campaign much more open and exciting.
An essential factor in this change is the criticism of Biden, including accusations that he was too old to carry out a new presidential term. In addition, the assassination attempt on Donald Trump has strengthened the Republicans’ position. But with Biden out of the picture, the dynamics are changing significantly for the Democrats. Jacob Heinel Jensen points out that many voters want change in the political system, and the big question now is whether they will support a 78-year-old Trump or a younger Democratic presidential candidate.