Joe Biden has dropped out of the race. Will his successor embrace his populist agenda?
In 2020, Joe Biden positioned himself as the sole Democrat capable of defeating Donald Trump. He was nominated as “Scranton Joe,” “Amtrak Joe,” and a favorite among the party’s moderate African-American voters, ultimately securing a win. However, what followed was a surprising shift in policy—Biden’s political-economic agenda, in many key areas, was a response to the populist discontent that fueled Trump’s rise just four years earlier.
Biden’s White House pursued a populist agenda in areas like tariffs on Chinese goods, industrial reshoring, rural redevelopment, and aggressive anti-monopoly measures. This platform bore more than a passing resemblance to populist ideals, reflecting a marked departure from the traditional centrist politics that had previously defined the Democratic Party. In many ways, Biden embraced economic nationalism and protectionism to address the concerns of middle America.
Now, with Biden stepping out of the 2024 race amid growing pressure from Democrats and officially endorsing Kamala Harris as his successor, the question looms: Will the Democratic Party continue to follow the populist path he set, or will it revert to more traditional liberal policies? The challenge for Harris, as the new candidate, will be deciding whether to continue Biden’s populist agenda or shift toward a different direction.
Despite Biden’s populist rhetoric, his administration struggled to broaden its appeal beyond its base, especially as the country grappled with economic inequality and political polarization. The question remains whether his successor will fully embrace the populist agenda that Biden championed, or whether they will chart a different course in an attempt to win over the disillusioned voters who might lean toward Trump or other alternatives.
Biden’s departure from the race marks a pivotal moment in American politics. As the Democratic Party faces the task of forging a new identity under Harris’s leadership, it must decide whether to build on Biden’s legacy of economic nationalism or pivot back to a more traditional platform. Whether Harris can maintain the momentum of Bidenism, or whether she will steer the party toward a more conventional Democratic stance, remains uncertain.
Ultimately, Bidenism’s fate rests in the hands of Kamala Harris, who now inherits a divided party at a crucial juncture in American politics. The upcoming election will serve as the ultimate test of whether the populist direction Biden set can be sustained or whether a new vision for the future of the Democratic Party will emerge.
In conclusion, Biden’s exit from the race raises the critical question of whether his populist agenda will survive or whether the party will seek a new path forward under Harris. The coming months will reveal whether the Democrats remain committed to economic nationalism or return to the more traditional political ideas that have defined their past.
