Elections

Some Americans Had No Clue Joe Biden Dropped Out, Google Trends Suggests

UNDER A ROCK

Search interest for “Did Joe Biden drop out?” spiked on Election Day.

Joe Biden.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

Election Day seems to have called some members of the American electorate out of hibernation. Google Trends showed spiking search interest in the United States for the query “Did Joe Biden drop out?” over the past two days, surging to an even higher peak on Tuesday as voters took to the polls to pick between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The vice president replaced President Biden as the Democratic nominee in July after his disastrous debate performance versus Trump. Biden posted a letter to Americans on July 21 announcing his decision to withdraw from the race. “I believe it is in the best interest on my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Biden said. On X, the evidence of these oblivious Americans—amid the nation’s highly divisive political atmosphere—became fodder for jokes.