[Mega thread] - Biden ends bid for presidency

Biden announced he's ending his bid for the presidency via X (formerly twitter).

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If Harris is in, she can use the money already donated. Otherwise they have to start from scratch.
So it's almost guaranteed Harris will be in. Who they pick for VP is the question.
- Can they still keep her as VP and put someone else on as prez?
- I find this so insane. People talk about who gets to keep the money, who has which rich asshole routing for them, which strategy has been successfull in the past, like always setting up the current president for reelection...
  We need to focus on who has actually inspiring policies and ideas. We need to focus on these, because that is what the Reps lack. All they offer is "not the Dems" while the policies they propose are actually unpopular with many of their base. And the whole "Not Trump" strategy of Biden just fell apart.
  Is there noone in the Democratic party who can actually come up with a coherent vision of the future and inspire people to follow it?
  
  Is there no one in the Democratic party who can actually come up with a coherent vision of the future and inspire people to follow it?
  This is why I think Pete Buttigieg should throw his hat in if they do have a primary. He just had a Bill Maher interview that just went viral because he knows how to talk to the common people. I think his visions are inspiring, he’s done a lot of work for his department, and he isn’t afraid to walk across party lines and go on Republican shows to talk about the real problems. He’s smart enough to smash Trump in a debate, calling out all his lies, and even if Trump is too scared to debate him, he has no problem laying out Trump’s lies elsewhere coherently and cognitively.
- Harris/Whitmer is my bet
  
  On the one hand: "you can't have her she's ours!". On the other, she's out in 26 regardless, and she's pretty good so maybe we can share with the rest of the country.
- No, they don't. The Democratic Party can give the donated money to whoever is the candidate. Not sure where people are getting that.
  Edit: After reading up, I am mistaken kind of. If Harris is still the VP candidate, the money could be used. Otherwise a PAC would have to be setup to funnel money to the candidate...maybe. Bloomberg was simply able to transfer his campaign funds directly to the DNC since it was part of his campaign money...even though the vast majority of it was his own money.
  
  The money Biden has raised directly however can only go to the people that were on his ticket at the time the donation was made
  
  That's correct, but nearly none of the money is the direct donation stuff - it's almost in PACs which are (due to a legal fiction) entirely independent of the candidate.
  
  There are still more restrictions however on spending on other candidates and they would have to act like any other PAC, only helping via donating/running ads in support of (but importantly not directly by) any other candidate.
  
  The $100 million warchest belongs to the Biden/Harris campaign, not the Democratic Party. They are separate organizations, and Biden/Harris only answers to Biden and Harris.
  The DNC has its own funds of course, but nowhere near as much. And DNC funds are supposed to be shared with multiple Democrats, not just the one running for president.
  
  And notably even if Biden/Harris were supporting the alternative, they're an outside group. They can spend like a super PAC, but can't pay bills or do direct advertising.
- I just don't think she can beat big orange. I'm not saying she shouldn't .... but I don't know ... doubtful
  
  He was a prosecutor for years, so she has plently of oratory chops, and shes 20 years younger than trump to boot.
  Her only liability is the she is a she and there are plently of sexist fucks out there. Thats it.
  
  You forgot that she's a POC and there are also tons of racists fucks out there.
  Even before getting to her actual credentials (some great, others really not), people will be assholes. I still have hope that she, as a former prosecutor, could mop the floor with the fascists.
  
  On the plus side, racist and sexist heavily overlap.
  
  July 11th poll:
  Americans divide 46-47% between Biden and Trump if the election were today, almost identical to a 44-46% ABC/Ipsos poll result in April. Among registered voters (though there’s plenty of time to register) it’s an absolute tie, 46-46%.
  Were Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee, vote choices are 49-46%, Harris-Trump, among all adults (and 49-47% among registered voters). Harris’ 49% is slightly better than Biden’s 46%, although she doesn’t have a statistically significant lead over Trump.
  Also possibly key:
  Both candidates [Biden and Trump] face a high degree of scorn. About 4 in 10 Americans say neither has the mental sharpness or the physical health to serve effectively, and as many say neither is honest and trustworthy. Sixty percent say Trump is too old for a second term, also a new high, up from 44% in spring 2023. And in a sign of the nation's political polarization, 50% say that given his debate performance, Trump should step aside in favor of another nominee -- although, in contrast with Biden, very few of Trump's own supporters say so.
  
  You can expect Harris's numbers to drop given she's vulnerable to almost every criticism Biden was except age and the fact that the Trump campaign has already been preparing to attack her.
  
  And they’ve already made anti-Harris ads, which I heard on live CNN rn that they are already running them.

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