Will his decision to step aside seal Joe Biden’s legacy as US president?
Three weeks ago, Biden suffered a political catastrophe. Biden’s team had been surprised that Donald Trump had agreed to an early presidential debate in late June, and under rules that favoured Biden: no studio audience, just the two candidates, and muted microphones.
Biden urgently needed to change the trajectory of the race. He was at best tied with Trump nationally, but slipping in the key swing states that determined the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. He wanted to show that Trump was extreme, unhinged and unfit for office – a profound threat, in his eyes, to America’s democracy.
