United States of America’s incumbent and 46th President, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (Joe Biden) on Sunday, 21 July announced that he would not seek re-election to office, dropping out of the presidential race towards elections scheduled for November 2024.
This comes after multiple calls and appeals by the country’s Democratic Party leaders over concerns about his fitness, and mental lapses at a few public engagements with widely publicized gaffs by global news media.
According to Cable Network News (CNN) International, dropping out means he is leaving the Biden-Harris campaign cash – a significant amount totalled $240 million at the end of June, including the Democratic National Convention and allied committees to whom the party endorses to pick up the baton for the presidential race.
Biden’s campaign account alone held $95.9 million at the end of June 2024 according to the most recent available data from the Federal Election Commission.
Having endorsed his current Vice President Kamala Harris, and if tapped as the Democratic Party official nominee, she would take over the existing campaign account and have control of funds deposited there, per US Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules.
If the race were thrown open, the Biden-Harris campaign could transfer all of its cash on hand to the Democratic National Committee, as FEC rules permit unlimited transfers from candidate committees to national party committees.
The DNC could use those funds in several ways to support a new nominee and could distribute that money to a variety of other down-ballot candidates and allied committees — but in doing so, the DNC would be limited by FEC rules governing spending and contributions for national party committees.
Biden’s campaign could also be converted into a political action committee and largely retain control of its war chest. But it would then be governed by FEC rules for PACs, which restrict contributions to $5,000, sharply limiting its ability to distribute the tens of millions of dollars in cash on hand.
As a PAC, Biden’s funds could also be spent on independent expenditures, such as costly advertising campaigns, to support other candidates, including a new presidential candidate. The new PAC, however, would not be able to coordinate those spending activities with any of the candidates it supports and would face disadvantageous advertising rates.
However, while Biden has communicated his support for her, Vice President Kamala Harris will lay low publicly until after President Joe Biden speaks to the nation following his announcement that he will not seek reelection, according to two sources close to Harris.
Harris will not behave as a presidential candidate until after Biden speaks, the sources said, but her allies are calling delegates ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
Harris’ allies are confident and say that the hope is that the DNC will have a quick process to pick a nominee before the convention.
One of the sources predicted no other serious candidates will emerge.
Furthermore, Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the race has elicited reactions from both democrats and opposition. Here are some of those reactions, unfolding events and emerging details of Biden-Harris campaign following the US President’s announcement. –
BIDEN’S 48-HOUR FINAL DECISION TO EXIT RACE
President Joe Biden’s final decision to leave the race was reached in the last 48 hours, a senior campaign adviser said, as he consulted family and top advisers by telephone.
He did not have a final in-person meeting with his top campaign or White House advisers as he recovered from Covid-19 at his beach home in Rehoboth, Delaware.
The adviser said the president “was not dug in,” but was studying all of the data coming in and became convinced he would “weigh down” the ticket and be a distraction and complication to defeat former President Donald Trump.
FIRST TIME IN DECADES A US PRESIDENT HAS DROPPED OUT OF A RE-ELECTION BID
President Joe Biden’s departure from the presidential race comes after weeks of concern about the 81-year-old president’s stamina and mental abilities.
There has also been much skepticism about his ability to effectively campaign against former president Donald Trump and govern the country for another four years. Biden’s decision is also likely to raise questions about his ability to fulfill the duties of the presidency for the remainder of his term.
It’s the first time a US president has dropped out of a reelection run in decades, recalling memories of President Lyndon Johnson deciding against seeking a second full term in 1968 – though Biden’s decision comes months later in the campaign than Johnson’s announcement.
It’s also the latest shocking development in a highly charged political campaign that has included an attempt on Trump’s life.
But not even the attempted assassination and its tumultuous effect on the race could pause the loss of support Biden was facing among congressional Democrats who became increasingly convinced that a wipeout in November would also drown their down-ballot contests as well.
BIDEN ENDORSES VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS
President Joe Biden said that he will not seek reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden said in a post on X.
He said picking Harris as his running mate in 2020 has “been the best decision I’ve made.”
FORMER WHITE HOUSE CoS URGES DEMOCRATS TO BACK VP HARRIS
A former White house chief of staff and President Joe Biden’s chief debate coach ahead of CNN’s June debate in Atlanta, Ron Klain has said it’s “time to end the political fantasy games” and get behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Now that the donors and electeds have pushed out the only candidate who has ever beaten Trump, it’s time to end the political fantasy games and unite behind the only veteran of a national campaign — our outstanding @vp, @KamalaHarris!! Let’s get real and win in November!” Klain posted on X.
KAMALA HARRIS’ POLITICAL CAREER AND ROLE AS VICE PRESIDENT
Kamala Harris has been serving as the US Vice President since 2021, when she became America’s first female, first Black and first South Asian vice president. Today, President Joe Biden endorsed her as Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election. Some notable moments from her time as vice president are:
January 20, 2021 – Is sworn in as vice president of the United States.
May 28, 2021 – Harris gives the commencement speech at the United States Naval Academy addressing the 2021 graduating class. She is the first woman to give a commencement speech at the school.
November 19, 2021 – Biden temporarily transfers power to Harris while he is under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. Harris becomes the first woman with presidential power.
April 26, 2022 – The White House announces that Harris has tested positive for Covid-19. She is exhibiting no symptoms. She will isolate and work from the vice president’s residence.
May 27, 2023 – Becomes the first woman to deliver a commencement address at the graduation ceremony at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York.
March 14, 2024 – Harris visits a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota, the first time a sitting US president or vice president is believed to visit an abortion provider.
Read more about Harris and her career here.
BIDEN CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR: BIDEN DID “RIGHT” THING BY ENDORSING HARRIS
Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond told CNN that President Joe Biden did the right thing by endorsing Kamala Harris after dropping out of the race. “He picked her as his running mate. He got a chance to see how smart, how tough, how good she is,” Richmond said.
The campaign will need to “figure out” in the coming days how exactly to proceed, but Richmond said it will work to support Harris. Richmond said he got a brief heads-up about the president’s decision before he announced it publicly.
“Joe Biden, in the history of his career, he’s always put country and history first,” he said of the president dropping out of the race. “This is another example of that.”
FORMER US PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE, DONALD TRUMP SAYS BIDEN IS “NOT FIT TO SERVE”
Former President Donald Trump on Sunday reacted to President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid, claiming Biden is “certainly not fit to serve.”
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump added, “We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, former president Trump described Biden as going “down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.”
FORMER PRESIDENT’S SON DONALD TRUMP JR. SAYS HARRIS “EVEN MORE LIBERAL AND LESS COMPETENT” THAN BIDEN
Donald Trump Jr. is attacking Vice President Kamala Harris, who President Joe Biden endorsed for the Democratic nomination after stepping down, as “even more liberal and less competent” than Biden.
“Kamala Harris owns the entire leftwing policy record of Joe Biden. The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less competent than Joe, which is really saying something. She was put in charge of the border and we saw the worst invasion of illegals in our history!!!” Trump Jr. said.
His father, former President Donald Trump, told CNN shortly after today’s announcement that he thinks Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been.
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S FULL STATEMENT
President Joe Biden has announced he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race after mounting calls from Democrats for him to end his reelection bid. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new nominee.
Senior members of Biden team found out about decision shortly before the letter went out.
President Joe Biden informed senior campaign and White House team that he would be dropping out of the presidential race shortly before the letter went out, according to a senior White House official. The official said President Joe Biden had been reflecting on it the past couple days.
The news that Biden is stepping aside from the 2024 campaign is coming as a surprise in real time to many rank-and-file Biden staffers — at both the White House and the presidential campaign. CNN has spoken with multiple staffers who found out when the president posted the letter at 1:46 p.m. ET on X. The announcement was kept extremely close hold, one Biden aide said.
There will be an all-staff call for Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee staff later on Sunday, according to one source familiar, who added that the campaign for Democrats’ down ballot races will continue.
Another source familiar says that most Biden campaign staff, including some senior staff, found out from the president’s post on X. The most senior staff found out in the minutes before it was posted.
US HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON CALLS ON BIDEN TO RESIGN FROM OFFICE
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has called on President Joe Biden to resign from office shortly after the president announced he would not seek reelection.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson, a prominent Republican, said in a statement posted on X.
FIRST LADY JILL BIDEN POSTS HEART EMOJI ON INSTAGRAM, ALONG WITH BIDEN LETTER
Dr. Jill Biden reposted President Joe Biden’s letter announcing his choice not to seek reelection on Instagram, along with the double pink heart emoji. The first lady is expected to lead the US delegation to the Paris Olympics later this week.
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR SAYS HE IS “EMOTIONAL” ABOUT BIDEN’S DECISION TO DROP OUT OF RACE
Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison addressed President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection at the beginning of a previously scheduled meeting of the convention credentials committee.
“I just want to say this on a personal level,” Harrison said. “I am emotional about the president’s decision. Because this president, Joe Biden, has been a transformational president, he’s been a great leader, he’s a good man, a decent man, who has done so much for this nation, done so much to see us as people, to value us, to fight for us,” Harrison said.
“I’m emotional, because I’m still, still, riding with Biden. I still support my president. And we will get through this my friends, as we always do,” Harrison said.
Harrison’s comments, which began before Biden announced in a post on X endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, did not include a mention of other candidates, or additional details on what the process to replace Biden will look like.
Democratic whip praises Biden for putting “country first”
OTHER DEMOCRATIC VETERANS TIPPED TO FOLLOW SUIT AND ENDORSE HARRIS, SENIOR PARTY OFFICIALS SAY
With President Joe Biden offering his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as a replacement nominee, a senior Democratic official tells CNN they believe other party elders will follow suit.
The official said that the Democrats can “use this moment to bring the party together and return the contrast to Donald Trump.”
A second senior Democratic official, who has been in close touch with former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders during this deepening crisis over the last three weeks, said Democratic elected officials and others will rally behind Harris.
“People will unite behind Harris,” a senior Democratic official tells CNN. “Who would run against her?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATIC MINORITY LEADER, HAKEEM JEFFRIES PRAISES BIDEN, DOESN’T MENTION HARRIS
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised President Joe Biden for his decades of service in a statement after the president announced he would not be seeking reelection.
Jeffries did not mention Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden subsequently endorsed, in the brief statement.
“President Joe Biden is one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history. In less than one term, he rescued the nation from a once-in-a-century pandemic, brought the economy roaring back from the brink of recession, enacted consequential legislation for everyday Americans and saved our democracy by defeating the Insurrectionist-in-Chief,” Jeffries said.
“America is a better place today because President Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity. We are forever grateful.”
TOP DONORS SIGNAL SUPPORT FOR KAMALA HARRIS NOMINATION
In the leadup to President Joe Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 race, multiple donors had reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris’ team proactively to signal they would be willing to support her if she ran at the top of the ticket, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
One donor participating in one of those conversations described the message as: “If anything changes, we are there for you.”
Biden’s decision to exit the race and endorse Harris represents a seismic change for the Democratic party — and one that donors are embracing publicly.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, a Democratic political strategist advising several big-money backers, released a statement Sunday following Biden’s withdrawal supporting Harris.
“Kamala Harris is the American dream personified, daughter of immigrants who met at Cal. She is also toughness personified, rising from my home town of Oakland California to become the top prosecutor of the state. With Scranton Joe stepping back, I cannot wait to help elect President Harris,” the statement said.
Major donations to Biden’s reelection campaign had shrunk considerably in the weeks since the president’s CNN debate performance and the resulting crisis of confidence in the Democratic party, and the financing of his campaign became a key consideration as he weighed whether to stay in the race.
Big-dollar donors who had been withholding checks amid concerns over Biden’s candidacy abruptly began reaching out to advisers, expressing readiness to give to the campaign, according to a source involved in discussions.
SOURCE: Cable News Network (CNN)
