US Election: Angry Democrats Blame Joe Biden for Kamala Harris’ Defeat –

There was anger and reflection within the Democratic Party today after Vice President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that stunned some party officials and voters.

Harris was the self-proclaimed underdog against Republican rival Donald Trump, having launched her campaign just three months ago, but the nature of her defeat has some Democrats questioning the future of the party.

The sharpest criticisms include accusations that the party lied to supporters about President Joe Biden’s mental health until a disastrous televised debate with Trump in June raised alarm and ultimately led the US president to drop out of the race.

A Democratic Party donor asked: “Why did Joe Biden wait so long? He shouldn’t have hidden (his health issue) and he should have left much earlier.”

Biden, 81, had said in private conversations that he believed he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump and had publicly vowed he was capable of serving the country for another four years. When he dropped out of the campaign in July, he said he had decided “it was in the best interest of my party and the country for me to retire”.

After all, Joe Biden’s announcement in April 2023 that he would run for president was met with skepticism by many Democrats, but potential contenders soon agreed to join his campaign as advisers rather than challenge him.

The party “needs a complete reboot,” said hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic donor who backed Trump in 2024, in X. “The party lied to the American people about the president’s mental health and condition,” he said, and did not hold a primary to replace him.

Harris’ campaign team declined to comment, and the White House has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Women and youth

However, the concerns run deeper.

Two groups Harris relied on to defeat Trump—young voters, believed to be motivated by issues like climate change, liberal values ​​and her social media savvy, and women worried about shrinking rights on abortion under a Republican, they went against him.

Trump’s overall share of voters under 45 increased by two percentage points from 2020, as did his share of female voters, exit poll data from Edison Research shows. Donald Trump also increased his percentages in several suburbs where Democrats thought they already enjoyed support.

The shift occurred even as Harris’ campaign team insisted the race was close and that she was picking up new voters.

A Democratic National Committee official said he was receiving angry messages from party members late Thursday night. “They feel the campaign team lied to them,” the official said.

In addition, Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric appears to have struck a chord with voters even in Democratic strongholds like Connecticut and Massachusetts, mirroring a trend in many liberal Democrats where newcomers are blamed for expensive housing and other costs. .

For example, Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has cut immigration rates under criticism from the right, and European far-right parties are pledging to tighten immigration regulations while siphoning votes from the center-left.

Harris’ loss is the second bitter defeat for Democrats by Trump in the last three elections. Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 paved the way for Biden’s candidacy.

A convicted felon with unorthodox economic proposals, including blanket tariffs on imports, Trump will cost American consumers and businesses dearly, economists say. Additionally, his plans to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally will upend industries and communities.

However, Trump was boosted by Latino voters and won easily in Georgia and North Carolina, states where Democrats believed they were competitive. Harris’ lightning campaign, built around an inclusive vision of the US and stronger economic support for families, had emphasized hope and positivity.

But Biden and Harris’ support for Israel in its attack on Gaza has divided the Democratic Party, with many progressive Democrats unsuccessfully calling for the US to cut aid to Israel. This cost votes among left-wing Democrats.

Harris remained at her residence in Washington through the night as crowds waited outside Howard University, where she had attended. There, her campaign team had set up a tent and a communications center, expecting the counting of votes to take days before a result came out.

However, as the results began to come in, her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond took the stage to tell the dwindling crowd that the race is not over. Hours later, it was over.

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