‘Uncharted territory’: what the papers say after Joe Biden quits White House race

UK headlines were dominated by US president Joe Biden’s historic decision to pull out of the race for re-election and endorse vice-president Kamala Harris. The move comes after a disastrous performance in a debate against Republican candidate Donald Trump triggered widespread calls for him to step aside from within his own Democratic party.

The Guardian splashed on “Biden quits race”, above a picture of a dejected-looking president. The “extraordinary decision” plunged “the US into chaos less than four months before the election”, it reported, adding that it came after a “weeks-long pressure campaign by Democratic leaders, organisers and donors”.

The Financial Times says “Biden pulls out of White House race and endorses Harris as his successor”. The “historic decision” puts Harris in “uncharted territory” the paper wrote, adding that Biden had “made history” by becoming not only the oldest president but also “its first to voluntarily relinquish power since Lyndon Johnson in 1968 and before that George Washington in 1796.”

The Independent ran with “Biden quits” above a full-page picture of the president disembarking Air Force One last week and said he had made the “shock announcement after weeks of resisting calls to withdraw from White House race over health concerns”.

The Daily Telegraph splashed on “Biden quits race” and in a subheadline wrote that “Democrats were reckless and cruel in paving the way to such a disaster” and that Biden and Harris had “left it too late to act”. The party had “already damaged” its reputation for “either compassion or brutal competence”, it said.

“Biden out … Kamala in?” the Daily Mail headlines, under the banner “America in turmoil”. It described Harris as a “divisive” candidate and noted that “Clintons back Harris but Obama fails to give his support”.

The Times headlined its story “Biden quits the race”, writing that the president “bows to pressure and ditches election campaign”.

The i also went with the simple “Biden quits” headline, and reported that the “angry” president had been “forced to stand aside … to make way for younger candidate”. White House staff were “blindsided” by the statement, it wrote.

“Biden quits” the Daily Express reported, adding “President caves in to pressure after disastrous debate”.

The Metro went with “Biden bows out” above a picture captioned “Sad end”. “US president won’t take on Trump,” it added.

At time of writing, some US papers had not yet put out their frontpages. But in an editorial , the New York Times wrote that Biden had done what Donald Trump never would in placing “the national interest above his own pride and ambition”.

His decision was a “fitting coda for a man whose life has been devoted to public service”, the paper wrote, adding that “he is greatly increasing the chance that his party is able to protect the nation from the dangers of returning Donald Trump to the presidency.”

Backing Harris as the new candidate was a “reasonable path”, it said, but argued that party delegates should have a voice in the selection: “picking a candidate without a real contest is how the party got into a position of anointing a standard-bearer that large majorities of Democrats and independents had profound concerns about.”

The Washington Post led with “Biden exits race” and in a headline lower down the front page says of his endorsement of Harris, “After miscues and revivals, history opens a door”. In an editorial, the paper said Biden’s decision had required a “measure of self-awareness that is too often absent from US politics” and that it increased “the odds that his party can hold the White House”. However, it warned, “Democrats need to proceed carefully” and also argued in favour of an “open process” in selecting his successor as candidate. Biden’s move “creates an opportunity for a reset” it said, writing that “a competitive nomination process among future national leaders” would strengthen the eventual candidate.

Biden had “bowed to the inevitable” the Wall Street Journal wrote in its editorial , adding that though the decision was “belated and begrudging” it was “in the best interests of the country”. It also said there was a “strong case for an open nominating convention” noting that “Ms Harris has experience as vice-president, but she proved to be lousy candidate in her own right in 2019”. A fresh candidate could “exploit Mr Trump’s considerable weaknesses in a way Mr Biden could not,” it added: “Mr Trump will have to raise his game too.”

Time magazine published a digital front page in response to events, headlined “Why Joe Biden dropped out” and featuring a smiling Harris striding onto the page behind an exiting Biden, whose front half is cropped out.

In France, Les Echos splashed on “Biden quits” with a picture of the president exiting a stage.

In Spain, El País headlined its main story “Biden quits re-election race” above a picture of the president’s letter announcing the decision and noted that he had endorsed Harris as his replacement.