What Biden just did for his country

Plus: Biden's money, potential new VPs, and more. July 22, 2024 [View in browser]( Hi, I hope you had a great weekend! Sean Collins here with you again today, and for the last time; I’m passing the reins back to Caroline — she’ll be with you again tomorrow. For my last newsletter, I have a piece on this weekend’s historic reins-passing: President Joe Biden [announcing he’s giving up his candidacy for a second term](, with just months to go before the election. Zack Beauchamp, who broke the RNC down for us Friday, is with us today to explain why Biden’s choice is a good thing for our small-d democracy. —Sean Collins, editor of news   [Joe Biden speaks behind a podium bearing the presidential seal; he is seen through a magnifying glass, looming large beside VP Kamala Harris and AG Merrick Garland.] Artem Priakhin/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images This is bigger than Joe Biden By [dropping out of the 2024 race](, President Joe Biden did what we all want our politicians to do: He put his country over his career. Knowing that his party had lost faith in his capacity to beat former President Donald Trump and that a second Trump term [would threaten democracy itself](, he chose to do the right thing and step aside. Of course, it took him a long time to get here. While it’s only been 24 days since the disastrous debate with Trump, we don’t know how long Biden had been in decline prior to that. The earlier that clock starts, the worse it reflects on Biden and his team. But ultimately, the story isn’t really about Joe Biden as a person. It’s about what he and his party did — and what their actions tell us about the state of American democracy. And what they say is surprisingly hopeful. In a country where many think politicians won’t do the right thing, Biden did (even if he exhausted all other options first). In a country where political parties seem to cower in the face of their own leaders, one party managed to challenge and push out a candidate whose campaign served neither party nor country. And in a country where polarization seemingly ground everything to a standstill, democracy showed it’s still capable of surprising us. Biden’s announcement, and the Democratic effort to push him into it, shows America’s institutions might not be as broken as many think. [Biden, in a dark suit and red tie featuring white donkeys, closes his eyes and bows his head under bright lights.] Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Biden (ultimately) does the right thing For years, voters have been telling pollsters that they thought Joe Biden was too old to serve a second term as president. The race remained competitive because voters were similarly wary of Trump, but there was clear unease about Biden’s future. Biden could have chosen to listen to those fears. He could have stepped aside before the primary elections, or encouraged an open convention back when [the New York Times’s Ezra Klein sounded the alarm bell about age in February](. But he didn’t. And then the disastrous June debate happened, and the chorus became deafening. [Poll after poll]( found that large majorities of Americans — and even [majorities of Democrats]( — had concluded that Biden wasn’t competent to serve a second term. (This speaks to the absurdity of the narrative, popular among some Biden dead-enders and bad faith right-wingers, that the push against Biden is [undemocratic]( or [even a kind of coup](.) Biden was not just heading for defeat. He and his party were confirming nearly every negative stereotype the voters had about the political system: Politicians were selfish, aged fools unable to act in the public interest; political parties were creatures of a corrupt elite entirely out of touch with the public. In stepping aside, Biden flips the script. He showed that, when push really came to shove, there was something more important to the president than power: the fortunes of the party and the fate of his country. Even if the actual sequence of events followed [the apocryphal quip]( that “Americans will always do the right thing, only after they have tried everything else,” he did, ultimately, come to the right conclusion. [President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris (he in a navy suit, she in powder blue) smile and wave in a gym decorated with US flag bunting.] Andrew Harnik/Getty Images A reason to be hopeful about democracy All of this is enough to make even the most jaded observer a little more optimistic about American democracy — for at least two big reasons. First, it shows that there can still be standards in politics. American politics isn’t just made up of two parties, wholly owned by party elites, locked in a mortal and uncompromising struggle to the death. At least one of our parties is capable of policing its own: challenging an incumbent president and, ultimately, convincing him to step aside. The contrast with the GOP’s behavior after Trump’s many scandals — from the [Access Hollywood tape]( to the January 6 Capitol riot — is unmistakable. Second, Biden’s departure shows that unexpected things can still happen. This is hard to prove, but I think so much of the polling showing public distrust in the American government is rooted in a sense that it’s stuck: that what’s happening right now isn’t working, and that no one is capable of doing anything surprising to right the ship. But a president abandoning a reelection campaign is nothing if not surprising. Politicians like Trump, in both the United States and elsewhere, thrive on the notion that the system is broken and nothing can be done to fix it. This is a problem not just because those specific politicians are dangerous, but because distrust rots democracy’s foundations. By showing that the system doesn’t only throw up unappealing options — that politics can be more than just a contest between two unpopular older men — Biden and the Democrats just did real work at repairing those foundations. They showed that a central promise of democracy, that it can self-correct after even grievous errors, remains intact. Fully repairing American democracy will take a lot more work than this, of course. The problems run much deeper than the 2020 election. But this is a big step in the right direction. And as a result, I’m feeling something that might seem unusual in the oft-gloomy world of American politics: hope. — [Zack Beauchamp, senior correspondent](   [Listen]( Trump-a-mania at the RNC Hulk Hogan delivered on the final night of the RNC, but did Donald Trump? We hear from two conservative strategists who do not agree on whether Trump's speech worked. [Listen now](   ONE TERM ONLY As you know, Biden isn't running for a second term. If you have some questions about what that means, not answered by Zack above, don't worry. Vox has some answers. - Brass tacks: If you need the basics on what happened, how it happened, and what it all means, this piece is for you. [[Vox](] - Don’t call it a coup: Republicans are arguing Biden stepping down is anti-democratic. That's not really correct, Andrew Prokop explains. [[Vox](] - Follow the money: If Biden’s out, does all his campaign money just go straight to Harris? Yes, but there are some complicating factors to understand. [[Vox](] [Biden, tieless in a navy suit, stands next to Harris, in a white suit, and raises her hand into the air. They both beam.]( Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images KAMALA RISING - Blue skies and coconut trees: Biden’s campaign was struggling. Would Kamala Harris destroy Trump in a head-to-head matchup? Hard to say, but Christian Paz lays out the factors to consider. [[Vox](] - The pros and cons of Kamala: What do we really know about Kamala Harris? What might make her a good replacement for Biden? What weaknesses might Republicans try to take advantage of? [[Vox](] - VP watch: If Harris is the candidate, who might she choose as her vice presidential running mate? [[Vox](] AND WE HOPE YOU'LL CHECK OUT - What’s with Biden’s super lofty promises lately?: Before announcing he would drop out, Biden was unveiling new policies on the Supreme Court, rent caps, and guns. They’re all pretty impossible to pass. What gives? [[Vox](]   Ad   Traveling this summer? Maybe don’t let the airport scan your face. Did you know you don’t have to let the US government scan your face at the airport? I didn’t. Sigal Samuel explains. [Read more »]( [An East Asian woman lowers her mask to allow her face to be scanned at a digital kiosk.](   Are you enjoying the Today, Explained newsletter? Forward it to a friend; they can [sign up for it right here](. And as always, we want to know what you think. Specifically: If there is a topic you want us to explain or a story you’re curious to learn more about, let us know [by filling out this form]( or just replying to this email. Today's edition was produced and edited by Sean Collins. I hope you have a fantastic week — thanks for sticking with me while Caroline was away. See you on Vox.com!   [Become a Vox Member]( Support our journalism — become a Vox Member and you’ll get exclusive access to the newsroom with members-only perks including newsletters, bonus podcasts and videos, and more. [Join our community](   Ad   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( [WhatsApp]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Manage your [email preferences]( [unsubscribe](param=sentences). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Notice]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1701 Rhode Island. NW, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.