This is an adapted excerpt from a July 21 special episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Three and a half years into his presidency, Joe Biden made American history with an act of profound political and personal sacrifice: stepping down from his re-election bid in favor of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
In the instant Biden announced that news, at 1:46 p.m. on a Sunday, everything changed. The Democratic Party instantly ended its internal war — an emotional, intense, harrowing fight that has torn the party apart for the past three and a half weeks. That is over.
In the instant Biden announced that news, at 1:46 p.m. on a Sunday, everything changed.
The expectation among Democrats, an expectation voiced more and more openly in recent days, was that the party was in for a historic wipeout in November — with not just the White House in danger, but the House and the Senate in danger as well. That expectation has also evaporated in an instant.
Shortly after issuing his statement, Biden voiced his strong and unequivocal endorsement of Harris. Harris confirmed immediately that she would indeed run and pledged to fight — to win.
When it came to commenting on the very difficult knockdown, drag-out fight within the Democratic Party, Republicans and Donald Trump had been uncharacteristically disciplined. They were being very reticent and very disciplined about not talking about the concerns over Biden showing his age.
That’s because they were crossing their fingers and hoping Biden would stay in the race, expecting he would stay in. They were looking at the polls and bragging about their surely, absolutely guaranteed victory. Last week, Trump’s pollster said there were between 20 and 25 different paths to victory in the electoral map.
Biden, perhaps cannily, waited until the supremely self-confident Republican side locked in their ticket. He waited to announce his plans until Trump picked a running mate whom most Americans do not know, and who — they are discovering — is deeply committed to a nationwide ban on abortion.
Trump’s remarkable recent run of political good luck has finally come to an end. He is now the old man in the presidential race. A 78-year-old who is only occasionally coherent, with a record as president that is viewed by historians as the worst in the history of the country and a tenure that ended in violence. A man who refuses to promise there won’t be more violence from his supporters in the future.
Trump’s remarkable recent run of political good luck has finally come to an end.
Trump drags along with him not just the legacy of what happened the last time he was in office, but also the threat of a national abortion ban and a possible prison sentence — that all heads with him to the polls.
We now know Trump’s opponent will not be a man older than him. His opponent will likely be a 59-year-old former prosecutor, attorney general, U.S. senator, and vice president to Joe Biden — who cemented his legacy with a decision that will go down in history as one of the most selfless patriotic sacrifices of any sitting president ever.
At 1:46 p.m. on a Sunday, Biden changed everything about this race. In an instant, the old era is over and the new era is here. It’s go time.
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