Breaking: Joe Biden leaves the presidential race. What happens now?

'It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president.'

Mōrena, and welcome to The Bulletin for Monday, July 22.

In today’s edition: All the latest from the United States as president Joe Biden confirms he will not be seeking reelection in November. Plus: Death Week returns to The Spinoff and Tauranga has a new mayor.

In breaking news

US president Joe Biden has just ended his campaign for reelection, releasing a statement on Twitter confirming he has dropped out of the race. “It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president. And 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 the remainder of my term.” The statement adds that Biden, who is currently recovering from Covid-19, will speak later in the week about his decision. “For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected.” In the statement, released shortly before 6am NZT, Biden acknowledged his vice president Kamala Harris – the only person name checked in his statement – but did not explicitly endorse her to be his replacement on the Democratic ticket. However,  in a subsequent statement, the president confirmed he was throwing his “full support” behind Harris. This is clearly not The Bulletin I was expecting to write when I got up this morning, and it is a developing story. Basically every media outlet in the world has a live blog with up to date information – take your pick.

A president under pressure

In many ways it’s not a huge surprise that Biden has decided to quit the race. The writing has been on the wall since a disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump last month. Nevertheless, four months out from the election, it is an extraordinary move for a sitting president. Earlier, RNZ’s stalwart political correspondent Simon Marks said that Biden becomes the first president since Lyndon B Johnson to not seek reelection after a first term, but the difference is that Biden had been effectively “hounded” out by his own party. That debate, reported NBC, led to a decline in popularity for the Democratic Party and Biden – 60% of Democrats reported they would prefer someone else as presidential candidate, and 80% expressed concern about Biden’s health. In the weeks since, a wave of Biden allies have called for the president to leave the race. Perhaps the most influential, though it happened behind the scenes, former president Barack Obama. Far more publicly, in fact splashed across the New York Times, was a highly critical open letter from actor George Clooney. By this morning, more than 30 Democratic lawmakers had called for Biden to step aside.

Who will replace Biden?

As noted above, Biden’s initial statement was notable for the decision not to name vice president Kamala Harris as his intended successor – though he did eventually come out to back her. Nevertheless, whether that will be enough to secure Harris the Democratic nomination remains to be seen. This piece on CBS explains what you need to know about Harris, who has already been a presidential candidate in 2020 before dropping out to join the Biden ticket.

So what happens next? This 1News piece looks at what we can expect next. A leadership contest could, as we have seen here in New Zealand, make things messier. Rallying behind one candidate may prove a strong path forward for the Democrats. This CNN report signals that the party could quickly fall in line behind the current vice president. Overseas media has in recent days been speculating who the strongest replacement for Biden would be. Other names being speculated, as the BBC reported, include California’s governor Gavin Newsom (who recently met with our own prime minister Christopher Luxon), former presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

This piece from the Texas Tribunal looks at some of the logistical challenges that come from replacing a presidential candidate, noting that while election day isn’t for a few months, the timeline for confirming who is on the ballot is significantly shorter.

Meanwhile, in the Trump campaign

The recent assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump led some to claim the Republican had already won November’s election. Speaking to CNN, Trump this morning labelled Biden “the single worst president” in the history of the United States and suggested that Kamala Harris would be easier to defeat. The ABC has details of how the Trump campaign is preparing for a potential Harris campaign, reporting that new attack ads are already being prepared and the records of potential other candidates for the Democratic ticket are being dug through.

One thing is for certain: today may mark a major and unprecedented turning point in the race for the White House. But that race is certainly far from over.

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Welcome back to Death Week

It’s death week on The Spinoff, the second time we’ve dedicated a full seven days to exploring issues related to mortality in Aotearoa. The Spinoff’s editor Madeleine Chapman has written an intro piece today, reflecting on the reasons why it’s worth focusing on an oft-taboo topic. Over the next week we’ll be covering a range of issues, but today we begin with a remarkable Cover Story from T. Black looking at the state of organ donation in New Zealand. There are currently 400-500 people on the waiting list, but not enough organ donors to meet demand. “There are two ways a person can receive an organ. One way is through deceased donation,” writes Black. “The other option for organ donation is a living donor, but this only applies to kidneys and livers. In this instance the donor usually, but not always, knows the recipient.” This is a lengthy and challenging story, but I recommend setting a few minutes aside today to read it.

Bed poverty: meet the people working to give our tamariki a place to dream

Research shows 75 children a day are admitted to hospital for preventable conditions like pneumonia because of where and how they sleep.

For tamariki, a bed isn’t just a piece of furniture, it’s a place to dream and grow. But 1 in 10 kids in our poorest communities don’t have a bed of their own. Variety is working to give them a warm place to dream this winter. Get the full story, here. (sponsored)

Tauranga has a new mayor

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Mahe Drysdale will be Tauranga’s first mayor in five years, securing a 6,000-strong majority over runner-up Greg Brownless. The last council was sacked in 2019 following infighting and poor behaviour, reported Local Democracy for RNZ, and in 2021 four commissioners were put in charge of the city. Speaking to TVNZ’s Q+A, Drysdale said he wanted voters to judge him based on whether their lives had improved four years from now when the city will next head to the polls. "If a city is in better shape than it is right now, then, as a team, we've succeeded,” he said. But Drysdale will also have to contend with the fact that voter turnout in this election was very low – about 31%.

‘We're fighting for our children to grow up and be competent in our own language.’

At aoga amata, young children are learning the Sāmoan language in a way few of their parents were able to. But in an ageing sector, current teachers worry there will be no one to continue their work. Read more about what is at the heart of aoga amata teacher shortages on The Spinoff now. (sponsored)

Click and Collect

• The company that owns SPQR withdrew nearly $1.4 million from the business and liquidators say it was also owed $1.2m from related firms at the time of its failure. (paywalled)

• The Herald’s Audrey Young, after the encouragement of our own Toby Manhire, republishes her 2004 interview with former prime minister David Lange. It’s a good read, and a timely reminder to listen to Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government if you haven’t already.

• Auckland traffic management companies are being allowed to maximise profits by leaving equipment out longer than needed, a new report reveals.

• Prime minister Christopher Luxon is back in the country, marking the end of a three week parliamentary recess. The Post’s Kelly Dennett explains why it’s going to be busy.

Right now on The Spinoff

Tara Ward updates us on who’s in the cast for Taskmaster series five. Simon Palenski journeys home to fossick through Ōtautahi’s secondhand bookshops offerings. Madam star Rachel Griffiths reflects on her life in television, including her MASH crush and what it’s really like to go to glitzy awards shows. Drum and bass DJ and singer PONZ shares her perfect weekend playlist full of influences, nostalgia, pretty synths and a Fred favourite. For the Sunday Essay, Lou Annabell goes looking for Grandma Stefania. And Alex Casey explains the shocking truth about Mitre 10’s “Bring on the Weekend” jingle.

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. I’ll see you back here tomorrow morning.

Let me know in the comments, or get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz, if you have any feedback on today’s issue or anything in the news.

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