Joe Biden just made it tougher for Donald Trump to win

Joe Biden has demonstrated what leadership looks like.

Dropping out of the race for the toughest job in the world – the one you have wanted your whole life, because you know you cannot win a second term against someone you personally believe to be the worst possible candidate for the presidency of the United States – cannot have been easy.

But it needed to be done. And Mr Biden did it. Arguments have been going around the top echelons of the Democratic Party in Washington ever since the President’s sad failure on the public stage in his televised debate with Donald Trump.

It took a while. But he leaves office in January 2025 having sacrificed his political life for his party and for his country.

Had he clung on until the November election, repeating his meandering television performances and slowing down measurably, he would assuredly have lost. He would also have been pilloried as a stubborn old man. Now history may judge him gently for his personal sacrifice.

The big question of course is, what happens now?

Mr Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. I’ve talked with those in the Democratic Party who in the past were not always fans of Ms Harris. Critics say she doesn’t shine in office. I’d simply point out that it is very difficult for a Vice President to shine at all.

An apt quote comes from John Nance Garner – Franklin Roosevelt’s vice president from 1933-41. Garner described the vice presidency as “not worth a bucket of warm spit”, or at least that’s the polite reworking of his rude vocabulary.

We will soon learn a great deal about Ms Harris, but what we do know already is that she is an experienced courtroom lawyer, an African American and a woman – three attributes that Mr Trump has reason to be concerned about.

Imagine Mr Trump has to engage in a televised debate with Ms Harris. I will stay up late at night to see it. It could be a game changer.

After all, Mr Trump’s contact with lawyers has not gone smoothly. His contact with women, well, I will merely repeat that it has not gone smoothly. And while he has some African-American supporters, his statements on race have not always gone smoothly either. He is a convicted felon often accused of misogyny and racism.

The first hurdle for Ms Harris is to secure her party’s nomination. It may take a fight, although even televised contests with other Democrats will stir up voters, grab headlines and engage TV viewers. Then, whoever wins, the next task is to devise a strategy to defeat Mr Trump who is ahead in the polls.

Mr Trump himself is a hero to Republicans as an assassination survivor. But he is also his own worst enemy. He is funded by enormous sums of money from hugely wealthy donors, including Elon Musk – reportedly $45 million a month. Describing Mr Trump as being in the pocket of multi-billionaires and the enemy of ordinary Americans is a useful attack line.

Two other key areas have to be addressed.

Will Ms Harris be opposed within the Democratic Party, or will her candidacy be greeted with acclamation? The party has many competent and ambitious politicians. But Mr Biden’s message of sacrificing personal ambition may play well within the party’s ranks, meaning other candidates step aside and gather round Ms Harris even before the party’s convention beginning August 19.

Second, what will happen to the about $250 million reportedly in Democratic campaign funds? Some advisers believe a Harris ticket will make moving the money to her the easiest course, especially since large amounts of it went to the Biden-Harris campaign, and her name is obviously already on that ticket. Insiders suggest the money will, in fact, not be much of an issue.

Third, if it is Ms Harris – or even if it isn’t – how will the Democrats balance the ticket with a vice-presidential running mate? With Ms Harris, we can guess her running mate will be a white male, probably from a swing state – perhaps Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.

Finally, what impact will Ms Harris – or indeed any other candidate for the Democrats – have with a late entry to the race?

Well, Mr Trump’s extensive 90-minute speech to his own convention was simply weird. He even talked of the “late, great Hannibal Lecter”, a cannibalistic fictional criminal. It presumably was a joke, but it’s not exactly hilarious. Imagine interviewing anyone for any job in your business or organisation who spoke that way. Would you employ them? Me neither.

Moreover, Mr Biden’s successor – whoever it is – will be someone at least a generation younger than Mr Trump. That alone will shake up this dreary yet hugely significant race.

The Democratic nominee will have one further great advantage: he or she is not Mr Trump, and not 81-year-old Mr Biden either. As Oscar Wilde once observed, “The youth of America is their oldest tradition.”

It’s going to be a rollercoaster ride until November.