Sunday, 1:46 p.m.: Joe Biden announces his withdrawal of candidacy in a letter to Americans. Behind this political earthquake lies the story of a decision taken in the greatest secrecy, with a handful of close friends from a vacation home.
It was just a minute before this social media post that most of his campaign team learned the news, during a video call from the president, who has been in isolation at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for several days due to COVID.
On Saturday, the American media were reporting a candidate confined, desperately alone and angry in the face of the army of Democratic heavyweights – his former allies – who were calling one by one for him to throw in the towel after his failed debate.
In reality, he was consulting his family and a handful of his closest advisers to confront the implacable reality exposed in the latest polls: his chances of victory in November against Donald Trump were shrinking to next to nothing.
In the hours leading up to the announcement, he kept his vice president informed.
“Vice President (Kamala) Harris had numerous conversations with the president on Sunday morning, before he announced that he would not run for re-election and that he would support her,” a source familiar with the events told AFP.
Phone calls
Kamala Harris learned this shattering news from her official residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, surrounded by her loved ones. The start of a new campaign to reverse the trend before the November 5 election.
To get this new political machine in motion and ensure the broadest possible support – her appointment is not automatic – the first black woman in such a position made more than 100 calls that day with Democratic executives, union leaders and other personalities, this anonymous source told AFP.
Kamala Harris’ list of calls also includes her pastor.
She told everyone that she “thanked the president very much for his support, but planned to work hard to win the Democratic nomination on her own,” she added.
Jogging and basketball
In a political world where symbols are so powerful, the details that have emerged from this historic day in the life of Kamala Harris say much about the narrative those close to her are trying to weave.
She was apparently wearing a hoodie from Howard University, the historically black institution where she studied, along with jogging pants and sneakers.
The vice president and former California senator’s love of Converse is well-known — the fashion magazine Vogue had even made it its front page.
According to the source close to AFP, it was she herself who arranged to feed her team who came to support her on site – perhaps offering a taste of what the White House cuisine would be like under her leadership.
“Salad and sandwich on the lunch menu, salad and pizza for dinner,” the source added to AFP. “The vice president’s pizza was with anchovies, her favorite flavor.”