Republican Candidate for President Donald Trump now faces a new challenger in November.
President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not seek re-election, marking a surprising and humbling end to his lengthy political career and shaking up the presidential race just months before Election Day.
President Joe Biden faced calls for him to drop out of the race
At 81 years old, Biden struggled to overcome increasing concerns within his party about his ability to serve another term and his chances of defeating Donald Trump in November. Instead, he has thrown his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
“While I intended to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to step aside and focus solely on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” “I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”
President Joe Biden expressed his gratitude to Harris for “being an extraordinary partner” in his letter and endorsed her in a subsequent post.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden posted. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”
President Joe Biden Endorses Kamala Harris
President Joe Biden and Harris communicated multiple times on Sunday before the president’s announcement.
In her statement, Harris thanked Biden for “his extraordinary leadership” and his “remarkable legacy of achievement.”
“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
For weeks, President Joe Biden had publicly insisted he planned to stay in the race. However, he informed his senior team of his change of heart about continuing his campaign at 1:45 p.m. ET, according to national media outlets. The tweet announcing his decision was sent at 1:46 p.m.
His withdrawal brings to a close a remarkable national political career that began with the fall of Richard Nixon and concludes with the rise of Trump. Biden launched four presidential campaigns, spent 36 years representing Delaware in the U.S. Senate, chaired the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, and served eight years as Vice President under Barack Obama.
Reactions to Biden’s Withdrawal
California Governor Gavin Newsom praised Biden on X, calling him “an extraordinary, history-making president — a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans.”
“He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents,” said Newsom, who, despite being mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential contender, quickly supported Harris. “No one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris.”
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, also considered a future national candidate, referred to Biden as a “great public servant” in a post on X.
“My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan,” Whitmer wrote.
Democrats praised President Joe Biden for his service
First lady Jill Biden reposted her husband’s announcement with heart emojis. “Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she was supportive of whatever road he chose,” said her communications director, Elizabeth Alexander.
Republicans criticized the decision, with many calling for Biden’s immediate resignation, following the Republican National Convention where speakers repeatedly attacked the Biden-Harris ticket.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately,” stated House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In a brief phone interview with NBC News, Trump labeled Biden “the worst president in the history of the United States by far.” When asked if he was surprised by Biden’s decision, Trump said, “He should never have been there in the first place. He should have stayed in his basement.”
Trump’s campaign echoed these sentiments in a fundraising email, stating that Biden “quit the race in complete disgrace.”
An Unprecedented Decision by President Joe Biden
Biden’s decision to leave the race so close to his party’s convention and mere months before voters head to the polls is unprecedented in modern political history. The last sitting president to abandon a re-election bid was Lyndon Johnson, whose escalation of the Vietnam War in the 1960s divided the Democratic Party. However, Johnson announced his decision in March 1968, eight months before that election.
“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.”
Replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee is likely to trigger internal party conflicts as ambitious officials position themselves as his successor. Factions have already formed around Harris, Whitmer, and Newsom.
Now a fight is on to determine who the new challenger to Trump will be
Harris, at 59, would appear to be the natural successor. She broke barriers as the first female vice president and enjoys strong support among African Americans, a key Democratic demographic. Nonetheless, her approval rating was only 32% in an NBC News poll earlier this month.
“There’s no one you can name right now who is an obvious substitute,” Perry said. “That’s what makes this so uncertain and chaotic.”
Democratic delegates, unlike their Republican counterparts, are not bound to their candidate, allowing them to vote freely at the convention. While Biden might influence the delegates, they could choose a different candidate than his endorsed pick, depending on any rule changes at the convention to address this unprecedented situation. The current rules state that delegates must “in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them.”
Support for Harris
Although Democratic congressional leaders did not immediately endorse Harris, many prominent lawmakers did rally behind her, including Reps. James Clyburn of South Carolina, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California, and Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Coons of Delaware, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Mark Kelly of Arizona.
Congressional Black Caucus chairman Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the chair of the group’s PAC, said they join Biden in “fully supporting” Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I know one thing, I will only work for @KamalaHarris!” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said in a post on X shortly before Biden endorsed Harris. “If it’s anyone OTHER than her, enjoy campaign season.”
Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said in a statement that “I look forward to doing everything in my power to get her elected to the White House, so we can continue building on the progress of the last four years.”
Former President Obama Has not Endorsed Harris Yet
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran for president in 2020, endorsed Harris as well, saying, “I will do all that I can to help elect her.”
Former President Barack Obama did not immediately endorse Harris. “We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” he said in a statement.
Harris’s fledgling campaign quickly energized small-dollar donors. ActBlue, the main Democratic online fundraising platform, reported that groups using it raised $27.5 million in the first five hours of her campaign. (Not all of that money went to Harris, though it’s likely a significant portion did.)
Debate Sparked Calls for Biden to End His Run
Concerns about Biden’s capabilities persisted throughout his presidency but peaked after his debate with Trump on June 27. Combined with declining poll numbers, his lackluster performance triggered panic within his own party about his chances in November.
With 51 million viewers, Biden spoke in a raspy voice and often failed to complete thoughts or provide a compelling reason for voters to choose him over Trump. He later attributed his poor performance to exhaustion and a cold. He urged the nation not to let one bad night overshadow his accomplishments in office.
Unconvinced, Democratic lawmakers began urging him to step aside, a movement that started slowly but gained momentum. Thirty-seven congressional Democrats, including independent Sen. Joe Manchin, previously a Democrat, had called for Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race before he announced his decision on Sunday.
They appealed to Biden’s sense of patriotism, arguing that if he truly believed Trump posed a threat to democracy, he needed to prioritize the country’s interests and step down.
Biden fought to stay in the race
Biden resisted. He held numerous calls and meetings with Democratic officials at all levels to rally support within the party — but to no avail.
To counter concerns about his mental acuity, he gave interviews and held press conferences to demonstrate his quick thinking. However, the gaffes continued, and his poll numbers remained stagnant.
Adding to his challenges, Biden tested positive for Covid-19 on July 17, forcing him off the campaign trail.
For Democrats, Biden’s illness created an unfavorable contrast. While Trump delivered a triumphant speech accepting the Republican nomination in Milwaukee on July 18, five days after surviving an assassination attempt, Biden was in self-isolation at home.
Trump’s Rebound
Biden’s departure is the latest in a series of startling events that have made the 2024 presidential race the most chaotic in recent memory. Trump easily secured the Republican presidential nomination despite splitting his time between campaigning and courtrooms, where he faced criminal and civil charges. In May, a Manhattan jury convicted him on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments to a porn star.
Then, Trump experienced a series of favorable developments. On July 1, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump was immune from prosecution for official conduct during his presidency, hampering special counsel Jack Smith’s efforts to prosecute him for interfering in the 2020 election.
On July 13, Trump narrowly escaped death during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a gunman on a rooftop fired a bullet that grazed his ear. Trump dropped to the ground in self-defense but rose with his face smeared in blood, defiantly pumping his fist and shouting “Fight!”
Two days later, coinciding with the opening of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida dismissed a separate case brought by Smith alleging that Trump improperly retained classified documents after leaving the White House. Cannon, a Trump appointee, ruled that Smith’s appointment was illegal. Smith quickly appealed the decision.
Trump continued to see a surge as Biden continued to decline
These events provided Trump with a surge of momentum, allowing Republicans to present a united and energized front at the convention.
In contrast, Biden’s primary campaign lacked enthusiasm. He faced minimal opposition as party leaders cleared the field, betting that having defeated Trump once before, Biden was best positioned to do it again. However, poll after poll indicated that voters doubted his ability to serve another term.
An AP-NORC survey released on July 17 revealed that 65% of Democrats believed Biden should exit the race.
Pressured by voters and abandoned by party leaders, Biden conceded.
Please note that the content provided in this article contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase or sign up for a service through these links, I may earn a commission or receive some form of compensation.
 |  |  |
