“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for my term,” Mr. Biden posted in a statement on social media.

  • memfree@lemmy.mlOP
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    4 months ago

    He’s now announced that he’s endorsing Harris. https://www.vox.com/politics/361827/biden-drops-out-2024-kamala-convention

    Moments later, Biden released another statement endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to take his spot atop the ticket.

    “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” the statement said. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

    What is clear is that the presidential contest is entering uncharted territory for the modern era.

    • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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      Mark Kelly would beat Trump like a rented redheaded stepmule.

      Harris… Won’t.

      Well, she wouldn’t today. She’s been VP for four years, and aside from her name, race, and gender, she’s still pretty much an unknown. She needs to develop a personality, fast, if she wants to get anywhere.

      Mark Kelly has had an extraordinary career. Fighter Pilot, Navy Captain, Astronaut, husband of Gabby Giffords, twin brother of Scott Kelly, who has had an almost identical career. He’s a Blue senator from a Red state; he will steal voters from Trump, turning red states into swing states, and swing states into blue states.

      • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        4 months ago

        lol no he wouldn’t. If you still hold fantasies that a Dem with a military background is going to outflank Trump for the blue collar white vote then you really haven’t been paying attention.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          Which former high ranking military officer and astronaut have the Democrats put on a ballot to test that hypothesis?

          Kelly doesn’t have to win the white, blue-collar vote away from Trump. He only has to poach a handful of Trump votes in a few key states.

          • BoxedFenders [any, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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            4 months ago

            Mark Kelly has had an extraordinary career. Fighter Pilot, Navy Captain, Astronaut, husband of Gabby Giffords, twin brother of Scott Kelly, who has had an almost identical career. He’s a Blue senator from a Red state; he will steal voters from Trump, turning red states into swing states, and swing states into blue states.

            You think any of that shit matters to the electorate in 2024? He beat a staunch anti-abortion crusader that previously lost to Sinema. Even Kamala could’ve won that one. You spout off his military credentials as if anyone impressed by that will now breathe a sigh of relief because they won’t have to vote to for the man who said rude things about them.

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              You think any of that shit matters to the electorate in 2024?

              Not in the blue-no-matter-who states. But in the states that will vote for Trump, and the states that may vote for Trump, it matters.

              Why put forward a candidate who can only win where any Democrat would win?

            • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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              John Kerry was a Lieutenant in the Navy, an O3. He commanded a swift boat, which were typically crewed by about 5 people. He was a low-level officer. The civilian equivalent of John Kerry’s military command was the produce manager at a grocery store.

              Mark Kelly was a Captain in the Navy, an O7. Captains command hundreds to thousands of sailors, depending on their specific posting. The civilian equivalent of his position was CEO of a fortune 500 company, (albeit, a smaller one)

              John Kerry ran against GW Bush, who was a First Lieutenant (O2) in the Air National Guard and a fighter pilot. As they had comparable military careers, Kerry’s background was a wash.

              Mark Kelly will be running against Cadet Bone Spurs.

              Based on their military careers, John Kerry and George Bush were dirt bikes, Mark Kelly was a Formula One car, and Donald Trump wet his pants when the engines started, and cried until his mommy took him home.

              The simple fact is that if Kelly is the nominee, you’ll vote for him. You’ll vote for whoever is on the ticket. “Blue, no matter who” voters give the party room to focus on pickier constituents.

              The voters we need to focus on are those in swing states and red states who would otherwise stay home, or cast a vote for Trump.

              Kelly has proven he can win in red states. It’s time to tag him in.

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                4 months ago

                The average blue collar american doesn’t know the difference between a Lieutenant or a Captain!

                Normal people don’t care about this shit. Military families do, but that’s a shrinking demographic.

                • BurgerPunk [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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                  You’re out of touch. The average person i know laughs when they see a virgin O3 walking around like they weren’t just the equivalent of a grocery store manager when they were getting shot at in their dinky swift boats like little bitches.

                  But when a fucking chad O7 walks around everyone loses their minds! Its just like if they saw a Fortune 500 CEO!!! so-true

                • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                  Anyone who has seen Top Gun understands the difference between a lieutenant and a captain.

                • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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                  Ok, now think like a voter who has cast two ballots for Trump, instead of a voter who is going to vote blue no matter who. Because that former Trump voter is the one you need to convince if you want to win.

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                John Kerry ran against GW Bush, who was a First Lieutenant (O2) in the Air National Guard and a fighter pilot. As they had comparable military careers, Kerry’s background was a wash.

                michael-laugh

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        ‘Who?’

        As you edited your comment, I will too.

        I know of and respect the man- I am a total NASA fanboy. The issue is he does not have general name recognition and they have very little time to get things out there.

        Having a scientist in the White House would be amazing.

        • Rivalarrival@lemmy.today
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          Agreed, he does not have general name recognition. But he does have a compelling story for every major news organization to jump on, and information flows faster than it ever has. 2 months and change is plenty enough.

          He also has an identical twin with a nearly identical career, effectively giving him the ability to campaign in two places at once.

  • sylver_dragon@lemmy.world
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    Thank fuck. Biden’s actually been a pretty good President and I say that after strongly supporting Bernie over him. He’s got some flaws and (including some pretty big ones, e.g. Gaza). But, he’s also had some good accomplishments and finally recognized that continuing to steer this ship intro the dirt wasn’t the best plan. So, Thank you President Biden and let’s all now pull together and get whoever replaces him elected. It’s probably Harris. Again, not my first choice, and I suspect the selection process isn’t going to be terribly Democratic. But, we missed that boat by not having a real primary. But, we now have a chance for someone without one foot in the grave and the other on a patch of ice, to beat Trump. Let’s not squander it.

    • anachronist@midwest.social
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      finally recognized that continuing to steer this ship intro the dirt wasn’t the best plan

      All evidence is that he was pushed out by Obama, Pelosi, Schumer etc.

      • hglman@lemmy.ml
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        If he actually was on his game they wouldn’t have succeed. Its absolutely a sign of his age that he got pushed and he did the right thing to step down. its the wrong time but better late than never.

        • anachronist@midwest.social
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          I mean, if his brain wasn’t oozing out of his ears they wouldn’t have tried.

          Obama picked him as VP and then organized the takedown of Bernie in 2020. Obama is his fairy godfather.

          • Breezy@lemmy.world
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            Pretty sure they are not on good terms. I dont think they have ever since Hillary got the 2016 nominations instead of himself, and then fucked up losing to trump.

  • TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml
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    Hopefully we can get a halfway decent candidate that isn’t going to continue support and fund a genocide.

    • Tak@lemmy.ml
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      That seems extremely unlikely. US elected officials are elected via donors who buy them and the military industrial complex isn’t going to back someone who is against selling weapons to one of the largest buyers.

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        I’m not holding my breath but if they want the best chance they should go with someone else. I think she’ll have a tough time beating trump

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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          Who? They have to be:

          • well known - they’re only getting a few months to build a campaign
          • relatively centrist - a lot of people in the middle dislike Trump, so that’s who you need to court
          • no major red flags - Trump will rip people apart, if the candidate has failings, they need to be conservative-friendly failings
          • well-funded - perhaps the most important, and Kamala has the Biden-Harris money to use

          She’s a terrible candidate, but I think she ticks the boxes above. I’m not voting for her or Trump, but I do think she’s the best option for the DNC, unless some billionaire decides to run.

                • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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                  It’s certainly an issue. How is he going to negotiate peace if he’s physically impaired?

                  I also don’t think Bernie Sanders would do anything meaningful to change things in Gaza. His statements on the matter have basically been, “there’s no easy solution, so let’s just push for a temporary ceasefire to get humanitarian aid in.” He doesn’t have a plan to end the conflict, nor do I think he could do the job of a diplomat to bring both sides to the table (and would Hamas even listen to him, he’s a Jew and, even if he doesn’t have ties to Israel, that’s still likely an issue for them).

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    Harris is a cop: Trump is a felon. Does it get anymore poetic than that?

    next debate, she should bring a pair of handcuffs out and set them on the podium for everyone to see, don’t say shit a about them and just have the debate

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      Did you like when Harris was a cop and she argued for keeping prisoners past their release date because they needed the prison labor?

      Or what about when she enabled the abuse of trans prisoners?

      Or what about when she led to the criminalization of black parents to address truancy problems?

      ACAB

      (Also if you think this is a pro-Trump post you are incorrect)

      • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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        I 100% agree. In 2016, she got dead last in my preference for Democrat candidates, and that was completely validated when Tulsi Gabbard completely wrecked her. In the last 4 years, she did absolutely nothing to gain my confidence in her. I don’t believe she’s a good person, a good politician, or even a good candidate.

        But somehow she’s better than Trump. Maybe. I’m actually not sure anymore, because police and prison reform are really high on my list of priorities.

        I’m definitely not voting for Trump, that’s a given, but I’m most likely not voting for Harris. If I lived in a swing state, maybe I’d reconsider, but I don’t so I’m not throwing my vote away to a candidate I strongly dislike. I hope Trump loses, but I don’t necessarily hope Harris wins. Screw them both, Trump should be locked up and Harris should stay home.

    • tetris11@lemmy.ml
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      Harris is a cop: Trump is a felon. Does it get anymore poetic than that?

      He’s a fascist punk, and she’s a valet.
      What more can I say?

  • mrmetaverse@lemmy.ml
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    I doubt the nomination is really “open”. The only way they get to spend their war chest is if VP Harris runs (and she is). I can’t see the DNC nominating anyone else with such little time left.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldB
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    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    President Biden announced Sunday that he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, a seismic event that will leave Democrats scrambling to select his replacement just weeks before their convention.

    “While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for my term,” Mr. Biden posted in a statement on social media.

    In the days following the debate, a growing chorus of Democrats openly expressed concern over the president’s health and mental state, his ability to defeat Trump in November and his capacity to lead the country for four more years.

    The pressure to step aside steadily increased as Democratic lawmakers and governors went days without hearing from Mr. Biden directly, allowing questions about his future to swirl within the party ranks.

    In the weeks since the debate, the president tried to push back, insisting in a series of public appearances and meetings with Democratic elected officials that he was committed to staying in the race.

    For months, the Biden campaign and allies reassured the public that the president was up to the rigors of leading the free world, often dismissing questions about his age and fitness even as polls consistently showed Americans had concerns.


    The original article contains 1,005 words, the summary contains 224 words. Saved 78%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

    • PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml
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      100% And libs that supported him until today shouldn’t be allowed to vote anymore.