The path to Joe Biden’s decision not to contest the 2024 US presidential election – from his disastrous debate against Donald Trump to Kamala Harris’s almost guaranteed nomination as the Democratic party candidate for the November vote – seemed to happen at first painfully slowly, then at exhilarating speed.
In this week’s edition US political correspondent Lauren Gambino charts the dizzying 36 hours that saw Harris take White House centre stage in what has already proved to be a rollercoaster month in US politics. Meanwhile, David Smith pays tribute to how Biden, when the reality of how his age and obvious frailty diminished any chance of beating Trump finally dawned, acted with grace and dignity in handing on the baton to his vice-president.
