President Joe Biden’s decision to step back from the path to the White House, while unusual, has a historic echo: Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew from pursuing reelection in 1968 amid a faltering Vietnam War. By then, primary races for the Democratic Party were already underway and not unfolding as Johnson had hoped. Half a century later, American society contends with similar ills: overseas conflicts fueling domestic discontent, a sharply divided nation, and a leader whose popularity is waning.
“There’s a strong parallel,” notes Julio Cañero, a researcher at the Franklin Institute of the University of Alcalá, speaking to this publication.
What Biden shared on social media, Johnson announced on cable television. Both aimed to maximize their reach. Johnson addressed viewers on March 31, 1968, to disclose a major development: after thirty minutes of detailing a partial halt to the bombing of Vietnam, he added, in the final moments, that he would not seek reelection because he did not want to serve a personal party agenda. He signaled that the party machinery stood against him. Biden’s resignation letter mirrored this sentiment, stating that while it had been his intention to pursue reelection, he believed it was in the party’s best interest that he withdraw.
These early precedents, though rooted in different historical moments, offer clues about the path a Democratic Party faces after pushing its leader aside and finding itself in an atmosphere of uncertainty.
Wars and Protests
A contemporary assessment attributes to Biden a chaotic immigration situation, the perceived retreat from Afghanistan, and support for the Gaza War, which has sparked campus protests bearing a strong resemblance to the antiwar demonstrations of the Vietnam era. Conflicts proved especially decisive for Johnson. The antiwar movement grew, galvanizing a broad coalition of social causes—from civil rights activism to the hippie pacifist movement.
Domestic discontent rose as the administration navigated precarious economic conditions. Johnson’s presidency saw economic growth and falling unemployment, yet real purchasing power declined due to inflation, contributing to a drop in popularity. For Biden, age emerged as a central perceived weakness. Johnson retired at 69 and ultimately died five years later from heart-related issues, the fourth heart attack he endured.
Plot Twist
The timing of a resignation can alter outcomes. Johnson acted early in the primaries, while Biden faces less than a month of maneuvering room. “Johnson caught his party completely unaware; Biden, by contrast, finds himself pushed out by party elites,” explains Iwan Morgan of the Americas Institute at University College London.
Yet the plan shifted. Johnson left the Democrats deeply fractured, whereas Harris, should she assume the nomination, could enter with broader intra-party consensus. In 1968, two other Democrats contested the primaries: antiwar advocate Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kennedy, brother of the late John F. Kennedy, whom Johnson had replaced. The campaign took another dramatic turn when Kennedy was assassinated after Johnson’s March resignation. This decade of upheaval also saw the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and echoes in contemporary campaigns that have faced security threats, including an attempt on Donald Trump.
Candidate of Consensus
After the national drama, Johnson assembled the votes to nominate his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, as the Democratic candidate, just as Biden has positioned Kamala Harris from the moment of his resignation. Yet Humphrey was defeated by Republican Richard Nixon, and the party’s internal dissent paved the way for two decades of Republican dominance, save for a single Carter term that did not see reelection.
“There must be a reorganization of the Democratic Party,” says Luís Martínez del Campo, a US history researcher at the University of Alcalá. The Republican Party has already undergone its own renewal, leaving behind the era of the Tea Party on the far right. Now it is the Democrats’ turn to recalibrate.
In sum, the political landscape calls for a realignment that can unify the party while addressing a broad coalition of voters. The future course of the Democratic Party will depend on how it builds consensus, responds to economic pressures, and navigates the shifting priorities of a diverse electorate.