Live Blog – US President Joe Biden Drops Presidential Nominee, Nominates Vice President Kamala Harris

Foreign journalist Jan Balliauw will soon analyze the situation in the United States in the VRT NWS Journal at 10:46 PM. We also go live with American correspondent Björn Soenens to get the latest status.

President Joe Biden is no longer a candidate to succeed himself and has nominated his vice president, Kamala Harris. Harris has made history many times in his career. That would be a first, if he is ultimately allowed to run against Donald Trump and defeat him.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson has called on President Biden to resign now. “This is an unprecedented moment in American history,” he says of Republican elections.

“If Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, he is unfit to serve as president right now. He needs to resign immediately. November 5th can’t come soon enough.”

According to American reporter Björn Soenens, Kamala Harris is not certain to become the Democratic presidential nominee. “It was surprising that Biden only thanked her for her services in his first message. It took a second message to say he fully supports Harris.”

“The only question now is whether representatives will follow that advice, because they are free to do what they want.”

So other Democrats can run for office. “If you collect 300 signatures from delegates, you’ll be on the ballot. If you get a majority in the first round, you’ll pass, if you don’t have a majority, a second round. If necessary, it can do 100 rounds. Get on.”

Still, Sonnens sees Harris as the easy way out for the Democratic Party. “He can defend his policies, he was the vice president and he already has half of the bill.”

“President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who will always put our country first,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at X. “His vision, values ​​and leadership make him one of the most influential presidents in American history. God has blessed America with the greatness and goodness of Joe Biden,” the Democrat wrote.

“Joe Biden has earned his place among the best and most important presidents in American history,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. He has recently been mentioned as a possible successor to Biden. “I am very proud to serve under him and grateful for his unwavering focus on what is best for our country.”

American expert Bart Kerremans (KU Leuven) is not surprised by Biden’s decision: “In recent days we have seen the pressure on Joe Biden (to abandon his candidacy, ed.) increase dramatically, some prominent political figures asking him to step aside. The pressure from financial donors is huge.

Kerremans says Biden had no choice. It was only for a short time. “The chances against Trump have become very small. The problems due to his age are also more visible. Third: If your own party does not trust you, and if the main party members know this, your position becomes impossible. .”

Biden has already expressed his support for Kamala Harris. He should try to position himself as the primary candidate at the Democratic convention in a month, Kerremans concludes.

“President Biden is an extraordinary, historically defining president,” said Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California. He has been mentioned in recent weeks as a possible successor to Biden.

“He was a president who fought hard for working people. He got amazing results for all Americans. He will go down in history as one of the most influential and selfless presidents.”

Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has already responded briefly to CNN’s announcement that he is withdrawing from the race. He says he believes Vice President Harris is easier to beat than Joe Biden.

Trump said that Joe Biden will go down in history as the worst president in the history of our country. In a message on social media site Truth Social, Trump writes that Biden was never fit to serve the country as president.

“Corrupt Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, and certainly not fit to serve — never was! He only got to the presidency through lies and fake news,” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Now look at what he has done to our country, millions of people crossing our borders, many in prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer more from his presidency, but we will not forget that he repaired the damage early.”

During an extra message at 8:52pm on VRT1, we will soon go live to Björn Soenens in the US.