LATIKA M BOURKE: Joe Biden has finally stepped down — But is it too late for the Democrats?

The inevitable has happened. Joe Biden has stepped down and the relief is palpable.

Now Democrats feel they have a chance and the world too, no longer has to watch what has felt like a slow-motion trainwreck materialising before our eyes.

But it should never have come to this and the risk is that it may be too late. The White House should also be held accountable for their deceitful spin, as they gaslit the American public, and their allies by insisting there was nothing to see here as Biden’s frailty worsened before us.

Then there is also the cost of the damage done to a party that was forced into publicly humiliating their President in order to make him accept what was obvious to all — that he was physically and mentally unfit to seek another four years as leader of not just of America, but also the free world.

The fact that Kamala Harris is no certainty as the nominee also speaks volumes about the disarray the Democrats find themselves in, on the eve of their party convention and just four months out from the US Presidential election.

Jamie Metzl, a former Clinton administration official, is indicative of the terrible position true believers have been put in as they’ve been forced into acting to oust their leader.

Metzl gathered a group of national security and foreign policy experts to sign an open letter calling on Biden to step down.

For figures like Metzl, who think Trump is beatable but need a candidate with a fighting chance, Biden’s noble decision to quit is vindication.

“Today is a great day for American democracy,” he told The Nightly.

“There are countless examples of elderly leaders across the globe from Zimbabwe to Russia to China who have refused to give up power even when they are compromised.

“The reason Donald Trump is such a threat to our democracy is that he challenges the very concept of succession, which exists at the heart of the democratic project.

“Joe Biden has truly put America first by making a tough decision for the benefit of the Democratic Party and the country.”

But let’s not get carried away.

Let’s face it. Biden should never have even been contemplating running again and his party should never have let it get this serious, this farcical and this late.

After securing his victory in 2020 against Donald Trump Biden should have been investing in a successor.

It went little noticed but this is exactly what Trump was doing when he picked JD Vance as his Vice President last week. Vance is a converted MAGA Republican.

Theoretically, Trump should have opted for someone who would bring in different sorts of voters, like those who backed Nikki Haley. But Trump believes in his MAGA project so much that he wants to reshape America permanently and knows he needs a protege to continue his project.

“J.D, you’re going to be doing this for a long time; enjoy the ride,” Trump told him during his 90-minute acceptance speech at last week’s Republican Conference.

Trump was publicly and notably doing what Biden failed to do, pass the torch. Of course, Trump, 79, is restricted by the US Constitution to just one more term, meaning this is his last shot.

But Biden and the Democrats should only ever have been treating Biden as a one-term President.

Because if, after all, we are to believe that Donald Trump is the threat to US democracy that the Democrats, like Metzl, claim he is, they needed to do better than put up an ageing man who was already exhibiting concerning behaviour four years ago.

But in 2020, Biden’s age was also somewhat of an advantage as it allowed him to run as an elder statesman compared to the pugilist Trump.

But by taking his party to the brink, Biden junked his wise old man routine and showed us that he was, after all, just another politician and victim to his ego.

But his final chapter is not yet written. By conceding, he gives the Democrats a fighting chance to appoint a successor who can fight Trump. Michelle Obama is the obvious choice if the party fears Harris lacks credibility and capability.

Of course, an Obama candidacy would only underline that despite the claim from Americans about their version of democracy as a beacon to the free world, it is essentially dynastic and a country where names and money lead to power.

The risk for the Democrats is that Biden, having passed the torch, may have run down the batteries in the protracted handover. But at least now they have hope and a chance.