Experts in the News | Miller Center

Presidential historian feels ‘sucker punched’ by unprecedented U.S. political upheaval

Unexpected political turbulence has hit America’s 2024 election season: a fumbled presidential debate, an attempted assassination and an incumbent dropping out. One historian says only the civil unrest of 1968 or the 1860s Civil War era can compare.

Barbara Perry

Democrats coalesce around Harris, as she kicks off bid with attacks on Trump

By dropping out and endorsing Harris, Biden has upended an already unwieldy presidential contest, making the race akin to a sprint rather than a traditional marathon, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

Russell Riley

‘It’s unprecedented’: Biden’s exit is a history-making moment in the American presidency

“It’s unprecedented,” said Barbara Perry, a presidential studies scholar at the University of Virginia.

Barbara Perry

Kamala Harris has a career of comebacks. She has 107 days to do it again.

However events unfold, Harris and the Democrats are in uncharted territory, said Russell Riley, a presidential historian at the Miller Center at the University of Virginia. Former president Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision not to seek reelection in 1968 — a precedent some have cited in urging Biden to drop out — was announced just over seven months before the general election, setting up a timeline that was languid by comparison.

Russell Riley

President Joe Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race

“We’re in uncharted waters,” said Barbara Perry, a presidential studies professor at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. “No president has dropped out or died this close to the convention.”

Barbara Perry

Historical significance of Biden dropping out

Guian McKee, Professor of Presidential Studies at the Miller Center, joins LiveNOW's Carel Lajara to put President Biden's decision to drop out of the 2024 race in a historical perspective.

Guian McKee