Joe Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race after disastrous debate
President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 race, a shocking decision fueled by a relentless campaign by Democrats demanding that Biden withdraw, citing his cognitive decline and poor odds against Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old resigned on Sunday after weeks of questions about his fitness to serve following his disastrous performance at the presidential debate, in which he made a series of mistakes from which he was unable to recover.
His historic move came 24 days after the debate, after a 50-year career in politics that culminated in the White House.
Biden announced his historic decision in a one-page letter pledging to finish his term. Shortly after, he posted a tweet endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
Now Democrats must rush to bolster their campaign and focus on a new candidate, with less than four months until Election Day.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account on Sunday.
“And while it was my intention to be re-elected,” he continued, “I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling the duties of my president for the remainder of my term.”
President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and ended his re-election bid after a series of negative reactions to his performance during the June 27 car crash debate against Donald Trump.
The announcement came on the same day that a host of Biden’s allies took to the airwaves to stress that the president would not step down and would continue his re-election campaign.
Biden said he would elaborate on his decision in an address to the nation later this week.
Last week, Biden was pulled from the campaign trail after being diagnosed with COVID-19 during a West Coast swing, fueling further speculation that he would soon withdraw from the race.
It came after a confrontation with Trump last month, in which Biden was often seen in split screen with his mouth open and a million-mile blank stare. During his time on stage, the president stumbled, froze, lost his train of thought and mumbled answers to questions from the moderator.
At one point, just 12 minutes into the debate, Trump said, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
Trump said at a post-debate rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, that he was skeptical that Biden would actually drop out of the race, saying Democrats have no better option against him in November.
Trump responded directly to Biden’s decision during a phone call with CNN on Sunday.
“He’s the worst president in the history of our country,” the former president said in the phone call. “He’s going to go down as the worst president in the history of our country.”
Trump said he thinks Harris will be even easier to beat than Biden.
The former president responded to the news that he will not run against Biden in November via his Truth Social account.
‘Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to be President, and is certainly not fit to serve – and never was! He only got to the position of President through lies, fake news, and by never leaving his basement,’ he wrote. ‘Everyone around him, including his doctor and the media, knew he was unfit to be President, and he was not.’
Trump concluded: “We will suffer greatly under his presidency, but we will repair the damage he has caused very quickly.”
Biden is not yet the official nominee of the Democratic Party and there is little time left to replace him, until the Democratic National Convention next month.
The party’s nominating convention takes place August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois, and Harris appears likely to top the Democratic ticket by the end of that week.
Biden announced his historic decision to step down in a one-page letter promising to finish his term, but he stopped short of fully endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
Moments after his announcement, Biden posted an endorsement for Harris to take his campaign to X. Pictured: VP Harris campaigns in the swing state of North Carolina on Thursday, July 18
Harris was initially outraged by reports that she was not being considered for the position, but it soon became clear to Democrats that she was the best option to replace Biden.
Now begins the race for the current vice president to choose her No. 2. The shortlist could include California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both previously mentioned as possible replacements for Biden if he were to withdraw.
Trump was among those who speculated that former First Lady Michelle Obama would enter the race and lead the 2024 Democratic ticket. She has so far had the best showing of any of Biden’s other potential replacements.
But Biden made it clear he is supporting his vice president for the 2024 race.
“My very first decision as a party candidate in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” the president wrote on X. “And it is the best decision I have ever made.”
He added: “Today I want to give my full support and endorsement to Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and defeat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Some speculate that someone like California Gov. Gavin Newsom (left) or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (right) would be a better replacement — but polls don’t show either doing any better than Biden against Trump.
Both Newsom and Whitmer denied before and after the debate that they would replace Biden on the ballot. Newsom also said he would not run against friend and ally Harris.
Biden and his team and allies spent the weekend after the debate largely focused on damage control, trying to assuage concerns that the president is no longer fit for a second term.
And while many party leaders and campaign officials defended Biden’s performance, Democrats panicked after the president stumbled and mumbled during the debate.
Campaign officials blamed Biden’s hoarse, hard-to-hear voice on a cold, and tried to claim it was just a “slow start.”
But lawmakers saw through that, with nearly 40 people calling on Biden to end his re-election campaign in the weeks following the debate.
Some felt that First Lady Jill Biden was the only one pushing to keep her 81-year-old husband on the ballot.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) accused the first lady of “elder abuse,” and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) wrote on X: “As a geriatric nurse who has cared for so many elderly people with cognitive disabilities, this is [debate] is heartbreaking to see…’
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden held a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina the day after the debate, where the president appeared more energetic and defended his viability as a candidate while acknowledging that his debate performance could have been better.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a phone call the weekend after the debate, trying to convince party members that he is still a viable candidate.
Some in the conversation said party leaders largely ignored Biden’s lackluster performance in Atlanta on Thursday and downplayed the onslaught of criticism that followed. No one could ask questions and the chat function was disabled.
Members felt manipulated by Harrison and Rodriguez, claiming they were being asked to ignore the angry situation the party found itself in. They were told to play by the rules and support Biden’s candidacy or find a replacement within a month.
Harrison gave what they described as a rosy picture of Biden’s path forward.
“I was hoping for a more substantive conversation instead of, ‘Hey, let’s go out there and just be cheerleaders,’ without actually addressing a very serious issue that was playing out on American television and was visible to millions of people,” said Joe Salazar, a DNC member-elect from Colorado who attended the meeting, according to the Associated Press.
He added: ‘There were a number of things that could have been said to address the situation. But we didn’t get them. We were manipulated.’
