The US presidential election 2024 seems to be a roller coaster ride for news channels across the globe. A few days after former US president Donald Trump’s attempted assassination, current president Joe Biden withdrew his name from the presidential race and endorsed Kamala Harris for the upcoming election. Biden’s decision to withdraw and endorse Kamala Harris made news headlines all around the world. While the decision by Biden shook the world and brought the presidential election at crossroads, it also made news headlines all over the world. Media outlets like The New Republic, Salon, and HuffPost backed the US president for endorsing Harris as the democratic nominee and claimed the democratic party has been unifying around her. But on the other hand, there were publications like Fox News and National Review that seemed to have criticised Biden’s presidential legacy and decision. While Partisan publications in the USA did what they have been doing for years, BrandWagon Online takes a look at some of the news coverages by media outlets. (news platforms mentioned below, have been picked randomly).
The Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror, a British national daily tabloid newspaper filed a detailed report titled, ‘Joe Biden WON’T stand in US election against Trump after stepping down as Democrat leader’ where it explained how Biden’s ‘disastrous debate performance with Trump’ led to democrats demanding him to reconsider his reelection bid. The publication has also written that, publicly and privately, key democrats – including senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and house democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries – have spoken privately to the president, candidly laying out the views of democrats on Capitol Hill, including their concerns. The publication also filed an article titled, ‘World calls for Michelle Obama as ‘only person who can beat Trump’ after Biden quits’. In that article, it said, ‘Michelle Obama has been dubbed as the ‘only person who can beat Donald Trump’ following Joe Biden’s sensational withdrawal from his bid for re-election.’ It cited how figures online supported Obama, who served as the first lady of the USA from 2009-2017.
Other than these reports, the publication also covered Harris’s surprise call with Biden where she became emotional and gushed ‘I love you, Joe’. It also published a detailed article on Biden’s tragic family history and Irish connection after Biden’s withdrawal.
The BBC
The BBC published an article titled, ‘Read President Biden’s letter announcing his withdrawal’ consisting his full statement which he wrote on X. In addition to that, the publication also filed an article titled, ‘World leaders show support as Biden quits race’ containing Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statements among other world leaders were cited.
Furthermore, BBC published a detailed article titled, ‘Biden has backed Harris. What happens next in US election?’ where the publication tried to answer questions on whether Kamala Harris now the Democrat’s presidential candidate, could other candidates come forward and how the nominee will be chosen, how the winning candidate makes their VP pick, and what happens with the money pledged to Biden among others. The publication also filed an article explaining who could be Harris’s running mate.
Al Jazeera English
The news channel under Al Jazeera Media Network which is primarily funded by the government of Qatar, also covered the withdrawal of Biden. The publication wrote a story that tried to encapsulate how Biden was weakened even before his forced exit. In the article titled, ‘Before age concerns forced exit, Biden was weakened by angst over economy’, writer Erin Hale wrote, ‘Even before pressure mounted on United States President Joe Biden to withdraw from November’s election due to concerns about his age and fitness, he has been losing the support of Americans over his handling of the economy.’
Their coverage also included Harris’ point of view on world problems. The explainer article titled ‘How Kamala Harris views the world: From Gaza and Russia to China and India’ explained her stance on the war in Gaza, the Russia-Ukraine war, curbing Chinese influence, and her stance on India as well.
The India Today
Indian news outlet India Today also covered the incident. It published an article on July 19, two days prior to the incident, titled ‘Biden’s family discussing his exit from 2024 presidential race: Report’ alongside comically covering the incident in their ‘So Sorry’ segment, a satirical show. The animated show titled ‘So Sorry: America Ka Trump Card’ showcased how Biden and his wife quit the race after being chased by Trump.