Biden and Trump have secured the nomination as their parties’ presidential candidates
With convincing victories in a series of states, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have gained enough delegates to their respective conventions to secure the official nomination as the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates.
Joe Biden garnered 2,107 delegates to the Democratic national convention with the required minimum for the nomination of 1,968.
Donald Trump also secured the nomination he won in Georgia, Mississippi, Washington State, giving him 1,228 delegates with 1,215 needed.
In Hawaii, vote counting is still underway, but it is not expected to change the overall picture.
In a statement, Biden thanked his supporters for the potential nomination while calling Trump a serious threat to democracy.
Biden said Trump is “running a campaign based on resentment, revenge and retribution that threatens the very idea of America.”
“I am honored that a broad coalition of voters representing the rich diversity of the Democratic Party across the country has once again entrusted me to lead our party and our country at a time when the threat posed by Trump is greater than ever,” he continued.
On the eve of Tuesday’s primary, Trump acknowledged that Biden would be the Democratic nominee and again touched on the topic of the incumbent’s age.
“I assume Biden will be the nominee,” Trump said on CNBC. – I’m his only opponent other than life, life itself.”
In his statement, Trump also lashed out at Biden, calling him “the worst president in American history.”
“This is not a time for celebration,” he gushed. – We’ll be celebrating in eight months when the election is over.”
Before Tuesday’s primary, Trump had 11 more delegates when the Texas Republican Party announced it was giving him all 161 delegates from the state based on the results of last week’s primary.
The party’s Texas chapter had previously planned to decide on the 11 delegates at the state party convention in May. However, national party rules require that delegate affiliation be determined based on the primaries, which Trump won convincingly.
There is now little doubt that the fall general election will be a repeat of the confrontation between the two presidents.
Such a rematch involving two American presidents will happen for the first time since 1912, when Theodore Roosevelt challenged William Taft. The current campaign will almost certainly deepen the country’s political and cultural divisions over the next eight months.
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