Good morning. We’ll start with the latest on Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 U.S. presidential race – plus more stories we’re watching now.
Biden announced on social media that he won't seek re-election.JIM WATSON/Getty Images
U.S. Politics
How Joe Biden made history
The announcement
• On Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden became the third Democratic president, after Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson, to walk away from a re-election campaign. In a statement posted to social media, Biden said: “While it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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 the remainder of my term.”
• Biden made his decision on the heels of three turbulent weeks in U.S. politics, beginning with his disastrous debate performance on June 27. Since then – and this is very much a partial list – major donors and members of his own Democratic party called on Biden to step down; Biden countered that only “the Lord Almighty” could persuade him to do so; Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally; and Biden got COVID.
• Biden said he would address the country about his decision later this week. The 2024 presidential election will now be the first since 1976 without a Bush, Clinton or Biden on the ticket.
The endorsement
• In a subsequent tweet, Biden endorsed Kamala Harris to take his place. Harris quickly released a statement saying she intends to “earn and win this nomination.”
• Plenty of high-profile Democrats, both past and present, lined up behind Harris as their new nominee, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, whose 2020 endorsement of Biden changed the trajectory of his campaign.
• But some politicians were conspicuously quiet yesterday: Nancy Pelosi, Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer and Barack Obama didn’t mention Harris in their Biden-praising statements. A source close to Obama told media outlets that he plans to stay neutral until the party chooses its nominee.
Kamala Harris at an event in May.John Raoux/The Associated Press
The convention
• The Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago in just four weeks, and it could go a number of ways. Biden had nearly 4,000 pledged delegates, and while his endorsement of Harris might nudge them in her direction, they’re now free to vote for whomever they like.
• If Harris can’t consolidate in advance the support of a majority of those delegates – along with the 700-plus superdelegates, made up of the party’s top leaders – then the Democrats will have an open convention. At that point, any candidate with 300 delegates behind them can have their name added to the nomination, and the wheeling and dealing to establish some sort of consensus begins.
• Who could challenge Harris? There aren’t many rivals left. Governors Gavin Newsom and Josh Shapiro and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had all been touted as potential replacements, but each endorsed Harris last night. Governors Gretchen Whitmer and JB Pritzker neither endorsed Harris yesterday nor indicated if they’d run themselves. Senator Joe Manchin might jump in.
The coffers
• Roughly US$240-million has been raised by various Democratic committees, and that money will benefit whomever becomes the party’s nominee. The Biden-Harris ticket brought in an additional US$96-million, and with Biden out, only Harris can now access those cash reserves – though Republicans say they intend to challenge that in court.
• Over the past month, big-ticket Democratic donors held back on their promised cheques, and several fundraisers scheduled for July were shelved while Biden stayed on top of the ticket. But yesterday, major contributors such as Reed Hastings (Netflix’s chief executive officer), Alex Soros (George’s son), Emily’s List and the donor group Way to Win rallied behind Harris – and swiftly opened their wallets.
• The Democratic fundraising site ActBlue said Harris’s campaign launch raised US$46.7-million from grassroots supporters in about seven hours. But some wealthy donors, including billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla and cryptocurrency investor Mike Novogratz, are taking a wait-and-see approach to their funds for now.
The White House last week.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
The reaction
• Biden may not have been feeling much love of late from his fellow Democrats, but that changed dramatically yesterday, when the consensus within his party was that Biden had shown himself to be “a patriot of the highest order.” (Those words were Obama’s, though Schumer, Pelosi and even Barbra Streisand all released some variations on that theme.)
• Justin Trudeau thanked Biden and said “he is a partner to Canadians – and a true friend.”
• For their part, Republicans piled on Biden to resign the presidency immediately, with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson saying, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President.” Trump echoed that sentiment on his platform Truth Social, and the Republican National Committee rushed out a video attacking Harris on the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
• No sitting president has ever dropped out of a race this late in an election cycle – there are exactly 106 days to go. Pollsters raced to see how Harris might stack up against Trump, and though she trails Trump nationally by two points (an improvement on Biden’s three-point deficit), that’ll likely improve in the coming days. In one recent Associated Press poll, nearly two-thirds of Democrats said they wanted Biden to step aside in favour of a new candidate.
The Globe’s analysis
• Doug Saunders says Harris is the Democrats’ best chance at defeating Trump.
• Debra Thompson wonders whether the Democrats will be undone by the chaos of democracy.
• John Ibbitson argues that a Harris presidency would be better for Canada than a Trump return to the White House.
• David Shribman believes that Biden’s decision not to run is a shocking – but not surprising – moment that changed history.
• Shribman also spoke with my colleagues at The Decibel about how Biden’s exit fits into American history – you can listen to the podcast here.
The Shot
‘There was life here. Interesting life.’
Sigis Yencius lives in Panemunė, Lithuania, across the river from Kaliningrad, Russia.Anna Liminowicz/The Globe and Mail
On the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Russia, the war in Ukraine has closed the pathways of commerce and culture. Read more about what locals say they’ve lost – and fear to lose – here.
The Wrap
What else we’re following
At home: Extreme heat across Alberta and B.C. fuelled hundreds of wildfires this weekend, putting thousands of people under evacuation.
Abroad: As Israel forces struck western Yemen and southern Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in Washington, where he’ll address Congress this week.
On notice: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told China’s top diplomat Wang Yi that Canada “won’t tolerate any form of interference in our democracy.”
On the books: The Bank of Canada is expected to deliver a second dose of interest-rate relief on Wednesday, after its first cut in four years last month.
On the podium: Team Canada is bringing a new generation of athletes to the Paris Olympics – along with serious medal ambitions.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this newsletter incorrectly referred to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings as Reid Hoffman. This version has been corrected.