For the past year, the presidential campaign seemed destined to be a monotonous slog featuring two candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, who .
But that all changed on a quiet Sunday afternoon just 107 days before the election.
BidenB次元官网网址檚 decision to and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor resets the campaign with a swiftness that is unparalleled in modern American politics.
Once a contest between two older white men, the election will likely force Trump to contend with the much younger Harris, who was consolidating support among Democrats and would be .
B次元官网网址淚t shakes things up entirely,B次元官网网址� said Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. B次元官网网址淚t turns everything on its head.B次元官网网址�
The crumbling of BidenB次元官网网址檚 Democratic reelection effort, which began with against the Republican former president last month, has left both parties scrambling. Although no one has stepped forward to challenge Harris for the Democratic nomination, she still faces the unprecedented challenge of taking over a campaign only four weeks before the party gathers in Chicago for its convention.
At the same time, Trump must pivot his focus to Harris after designing his campaign for a rematch with Biden. TrumpB次元官网网址檚 team claimed it was , and Republicans stepped up their criticism during last week in Milwaukee.
However, Trump himself expressed disappointment that B次元官网网址渨e have to start all over againB次元官网网址� with the campaign. He mused on Truth Social, his social media platform, that Republicans should be B次元官网网址渞eimbursed for fraudB次元官网网址� for all the money theyB次元官网网址檝e spent running against Biden.
The shakeup in the presidential race came after an extraordinarily tumultuous month in American politics, starting with an unusually early debate between Biden and Trump.
The June 27 showdown catalyzed concerns that Biden, 81, was too old for a second term.
As Democrats pushed to dislodge him from the top of the ticket, on July 13 during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Just a week later, Biden bowed to pressure within his party to step aside. He swiftly endorsed Harris, who is the first woman, Black person and to serve as vice president.
The breakneck developments left the political world gasping for breath as everyone tried to reorient themselves to a new reality.
Trump, who is 78, will almost certainly be the oldest candidate on the ballot after spending months battering Biden over his age. Harris is only 59, giving her a claim to representing generational change that Biden could never fulfill.
In addition, Harris is a former prosecutor, providing a fresh opportunity to assail TrumpB次元官网网址檚 status as a convicted felon after being earlier this year.
She is also the daughter of immigrants, raised by a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, a background that heightens the contrast with Trump, who has used racist, sexist and nativist rhetoric.
Harris tried to summarize their differences in a campaign advertisement five years ago, when she was seeking the Democratic nomination before dropping out and joining BidenB次元官网网址檚 campaign as his running mate.
B次元官网网址淚n every possible way, this is the anti-Trump,B次元官网网址� the narrator said. B次元官网网址淪o if thatB次元官网网址檚 what youB次元官网网址檙e looking for in your next president, thereB次元官网网址檚 really only one B次元官网网址� Kamala.B次元官网网址�
The leaders of TrumpB次元官网网址檚 campaign dismissed the dramatic change, saying, B次元官网网址淜amala Harris is just as much of (a) joke as Biden is.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hey own each otherB次元官网网址檚 records, and there is no distance between the two,B次元官网网址� said a statement from senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles.
Immigration will remain a key line of attack against Democrats, especially because Harris was tasked by Biden to work on migration issues early in the administration. Republicans claimed she was appointed as a B次元官网网址渂order czarB次元官网网址� and blamed her for unauthorized crossings.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e still going to run the Gotham City playbook with an added dose of racism and sexism,B次元官网网址� said Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster. B次元官网网址淎nd letB次元官网网址檚 not pretend that those things donB次元官网网址檛 matter, because they do.B次元官网网址�
However, Belcher said, HarrisB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淴 factorB次元官网网址� is her potential appeal to a diversifying electorate.
B次元官网网址淲hen you look at her, she is the DemocratsB次元官网网址� best chance right now to re-engage and energize that coalition of younger, browner voters,B次元官网网址� he said.
Democrats were eager to turn a political weakness that hounded Biden B次元官网网址� his age B次元官网网址� into an attack on Trump.
B次元官网网址淭his will probably boil down to Donald Trump, who is the oldest nominee in history, against Kamala Harris,B次元官网网址� said Rep. Maxwell Frost, a 27-year-old Democrat from Florida who has worked to reach young voters for BidenB次元官网网址檚 campaign.
Frost, who endorsed Harris, pointed to the vice presidentB次元官网网址檚 work on gun violence protection as an issue that could engage young voters and said she B次元官网网址渨ill be able to win back a lot of the youth vote.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪he is someone who really values young voices in general,B次元官网网址� he said.
At last weekB次元官网网址檚 Republican National Convention, Trump pollster and senior advisor Tony Fabrizio said the campaign was B次元官网网址�100% readyB次元官网网址� to take on Harris. He noted speakers at the event often referred to the B次元官网网址淏iden-HarrisB次元官网网址� administration in their speeches and said the campaign had prepared anti-Harris videos to swap in just in case Biden stepped down sooner.
However, Trump seemed to have some doubts. After Biden dropped out of the race, Trump suggested he was having second thoughts about participating in another debate hosted by ABC B次元官网网址 on Sept. 10.
B次元官网网址淣ow that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxB次元官网网址, rather than very biased ABC,B次元官网网址� Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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