It was also a masterclass in politicking, now that Democrats officially face a Republican nominee who continues to run on a so-called "America first" platform that is, in reality, a "Me First" manifesto. The moment Biden hit "send" on that tweet and ended his candidacy, he did what Donald Trump has never done and has consistently proved himself unwilling to do: Put America first.
Unlike the leader of the Republican party, Biden prioritized unity over ambition. It was clear, prior to his historically rare announcement, that Biden did not want to exit the presidential race. "I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump," Biden wrote in a letter to congressional Democrats on July 8.
As Trump revels in the MAGA cult of personality that has infected every corner of the Republican party, Biden has reminded the country that a political party is not one person, and one person is not an entire political party. As a result, the Democratic party is arguably more united and invigorated than it has been in months (if not years), while the Republican party and Trump's candidacy is in complete disarray.
It is clear that Trump World never, for a second, seriously considered the possibility that Biden would step side - the mere concept of a politician putting party, country and the fate of our nation's democracy above oneself is, to so-called freedom-loving Republicans, as foreign a concept as bodily autonomy, religious pluralism or no-fault divorce.
In just 24 hours, the vice president has successfully positioned herself as the capable prosecutor versus the convicted felon; the younger, mentally sound adult versus the 78-year-old senior citizen prone to violent insurrections and nonsensical speech; the future of the country versus the embodiment of its most misogynistic, racist past. That, Trump, is what you call "winning."
What a 24-hour period of earth-shattering change, unparallelled in US history. And what a natural reframing of this year's election into one featuring a former prosecutor against a multi-convicted felon and sexual predator - not to mention illegal hoarder of some of this nation's most closely guarded secrets. What a turn of events.
