President Joe Biden has announced he will no longer be running for president amid mounting pressure from democrats to step aside.
Following intense criticism of his performance in the first 2024 presidential debate against former president Donald Trump, President Biden faced numerous calls from prominent members of his own party to end his reelection campaign. Panic only increased after the assassination attempt against Trump appeared to rally his base earlier this month. If you thought things couldn’t get worse for Biden from there, the White House recently announced the 81-year-old had tested positive for COVID-19, leading to further questions about Biden’s ability to run.
On Sunday, July 21, the president announced his plans to call off his presidential campaign with a statement on X.com. “Over the past three and a half years, we’ve made great progress as a nation,” Biden began before listing a series of his administration’s accomplishments and praising the American people. “Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.”
Biden continued, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President, and while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
President Biden promised to share more details about his decision later in the week. You can read his full statement here:
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After thanking Vice President Kamala Harris, for “being an extraordinary partner” in his original statement, he endorsed her as the 2024 democratic presidential nominee in a follow-up post.
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So, what does this all mean? Technically, President Joe Biden wasn’t the official democratic nominee quite yet, as he was scheduled to be confirmed by delegates at the Democratic National Convention, which takes place on August 19 in Chicago. Possible presidential candidates include Vice President Harris, California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, and Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro.
Vice President Harris was Biden’s most obvious choice to take over his presidential run. As a sitting member of the Biden Administration, Harris is the only candidate who could easily take control of his campaign's $91 million “war chest,” according to Axios.
President Biden is no longer running for reelection. Here’s what happens next.
Prior to this announcement, Biden implied he planned to continue his own run as recently as July 19. “I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump’s Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone,” Biden said in a statement, per ABC News. “The stakes are high, and the choice is clear. Together, we will win.”
Melania and Ivanka Trump finally showed up after being conspicuously MIA for all of the 2024 campaign.
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