President Joe Biden withdrew his re-election bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, an unprecedented move likely to throw the presidential race into chaos.
Biden announced his decision on social media on Sunday afternoon. In his statement, he touts his major policy achievements as president, but writes “I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="zxx">https://t.co/RMIRvlSOYw">pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw</a></p>— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/s...">July 21, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/w..." charset="utf-8"></script>
In a subsequent post, Biden endorsed Harris to become the Democratic nominee. Biden will not resign the presidency, he wrote.
What happens now is unclear; how the Democrats will nominate a replacement, and who that will be. The Democratic National Convention starts in less than a month, from Aug. 19-22.
The decision comes after weeks of intra-party turmoil over concerns about Biden’s age and mental acuity, sparked by a poor debate performance late last month. Biden maintained defiance among calls for him to step aside throughout that period.
But other party figures and donors turned on the president, and a consistent flood of leaked information about party dealings made headlines over the weeks since the debate. So too did polling, which showed slipping support for Biden, especially in swing states.
After Biden, 81, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday, calls for him to withdraw piled up, including senators, representatives and other top Democratic Party voices. In the post, he said he will address the nation later this week in more detail.
Harris is currently scheduled to travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday for Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.’s convention.
