JOE BIDEN DROPS OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
President Joe Biden has announced Sunday that he is dropping his reelection bid amid immense pressure from Democratic leaders who were sounding the alarm that his pathway to defeating former President Donald Trump in November has vanished.
The presidency’s historic withdrawal throws the 2024 race—already roiled by a shocking attempt on Trump’s life—into uncertain territory, as Vice President Kamala Harris is viewed by many Democrats as best placed to take Biden’s place atop the party’s ticket.
Biden announced it from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., where he has been self-isolated since he tested positive for COVID-19 Thursday night.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in the written statement. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on my duties as President for the rest of my term.”
Biden has endosed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
It’s a remarkable turn for Biden, who had stood defiant for three weeks amid growing calls from Democratic lawmakers to step aside after a disastrous June 27 debate against Trump raised scrutiny over the president’s mental fitness.
Biden’s exit came after bleak warnings from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries that his candidacy could mean massive losses for Democrats in the Senate and House.
More than 30 congressional Democrats urged Biden to drop out, and according to reports, even former President Barack Obama passed on similar fears to Democratic allies about Biden’s prospects for beating Trump. Democratic donors from Hollywood to Wall Street joined the opposition to Biden’s continuing his reelection bid.
The decision upends the 2024 election less than 110 days before Election Day, with Democratic National Committee members now tasked with choosing an alternative nominee to take on Trump — whose polling lead has swelled while Democrats have fought internally.
Now, with Biden not running for re-election, Vice President Harris is in line to be the Democratic nominee, although the party’s bench of Democratic governors might also be in contention. Those would include Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Biden becomes the first incumbent president not to seek reelection since Lyndon B. Johnson, who, in 1968, amid national unrest and turmoil within the Democratic Party over the Vietnam War, astounded the country by announcing he would not seek a second full term.
Biden, 81, has had to battle Americans’ concerns over his age since he entered office. However, this morphed into panic for Democrats after the first debate with Trump last month, the Republican nominee. On many instances, Biden’s voice did sound faint; he strained much while completing a sentence, finishing thoughts, or countering many of Trump’s claims on the debate stage.
Weeks back, Biden’s campaign had been in free fall, his prospects in doubt. Rather than zeroing in on Trump, Democrats spent as much time and energy debating whether Biden could defeat his predecessor at all.
