It had been widely anticipated that the Democratic senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders would quit the race for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. The Democratic primaries are not yet over but his contender, former Vice President Joe Biden, has already enjoyed a comfortable lead which seems unlikely for Bernie Sanders to topple in the remaining primaries and the coming Democratic Presidential Convention. For Bernie Sanders, it must be very bitter and disappointing. Four years ago he was defeated by Hillary Clinton and now he voluntarily dropped out of the race seeing his chances exhausted.
| Photo: Evan Vucci/AP |
Sanders's capitulation paves the way for Biden, as the last and now unique candidate to be nominated by the Democratic Party for president and the most dangerous opponent to Donald Trump. That Bernie Sanders quit the race more than half a year before the Election Day is not only really very good, but also lucky for the Democratic Party as it has now enough time to mobilize and enhance unity within the party for the upcoming election.
Sanders’ exit helped his party avoid the internal exhausting and demoralizing power struggle and helped Joe Biden formulate a proper election campaign agenda which is more moderate and less radical. Joe Biden can now concentrate on campaigning against Donald Trump directly, thus improving his chance to defeat his political Republican foe. He has now enough time to win the very important acceptance and support of Bernie Sanders' proponents.
It should be very bad news for Donald Trump that Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race. He has now to compete with a more self-confident candidate from a more united party. At the same time, he has to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. Until now, he is still not able to stop the spread of the pandemic and to get it under his control. The country's economic growth is slowing down and the unemployment rate continues to increase. His crisis management has been heavily criticized in the US. Therefore, the successful dealing with the pandemic becomes more and more decisive for his chance to be re-elected on November 3.
The final outcome of this year's presidential election in the US is getting more unpredictable than ever before. But the only certain thing at this moment is that this election has become increasingly interesting.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Ambassador Tran Duc Mau are of his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Hanoitimes.
