President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 race in a momentous decision prompted by a relentless campaign by Democrats demanding he withdraw because of his cognitive decline and dire odds against Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old stepped down after facing weeks of questions about his fitness to serve following his disastrous performance in the presidential debate.
His historic decision comes after a 50-year political career that culminated in the White House.
Democrats must now rush to shore up their campaign behind a new candidate just four months before Election Day.
During the confrontation with Trump, the president often appeared with his mouth open and his gaze lost in space. During his turn to speak, Biden staggered, froze, lost his train of thought and mumbled as he answered the moderator’s questions.
At one point, barely 12 minutes into the debate, Trump said: “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence. I don’t think he knows what he said either.”
President Joe Biden has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, ending his re-election bid after a series of backlashes over his June 27 car crash debate performance against Donald Trump.
Trump said at a post-debate rally in Chesapeake, Virginia, that he was skeptical Biden would actually drop out of the race, arguing that Democrats have no better option against him in November.
Fortunately, Biden is not yet the official candidate of the Democratic Party and there is still little time left to replace him.
The nominating convention will be held August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois.
Leading candidates for Biden’s job include California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Vice President Kamala Harris is reportedly furious that she is not being considered, and others, including Trump, have speculated that former first lady Michelle Obama is among the list of replacements for the 2024 Democratic nomination.
Both Newsom and Whitmer have denied before and after the debate that they are seeking to replace Biden on the ticket.
Biden, his team and allies spent the weekend after the debate in damage control mode, trying to calm concerns that the president is no longer fit for a second term.
And even though many party leaders and campaign officials defended Biden’s performance, Democrats were thrown into a full-blown panic after the president stumbled and mumbled during the debate.
The campaign said Biden’s hoarse, hard-to-hear voice was the result of a cold and tried to sell the idea that it was simply a “slow start.”
What now? Many believe the best replacement for Biden would be California Governor Gavin Newsom (left) or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (right).
Some felt First Lady Jill Biden was the only one pushing to keep her 81-year-old husband on the ticket.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.) accused the first lady of “elder abuse,” and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) wrote on X: “As a geriatric nurse who has cared for so many older adults with cognitive impairment, it is heartbreaking to watch this (debate)…”
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a call Saturday afternoon seeking to reassure grassroots members of the party about his continued viability as a candidate.
According to some on the call, party leaders largely ignored Biden’s weak performance in Atlanta on Thursday and downplayed the avalanche of criticism that followed. No one was able to ask questions and the chat function was disabled.
Members felt misled by Harrison and Rodriguez and said they were being asked to ignore the anger in the party, either toe the line and support Biden’s candidacy or rush to find a replacement in just a month.
Harrison offered what was described as an optimistic assessment of Biden’s path forward.
“I was hoping for a more substantive conversation rather than, ‘Hey, let’s go out and just be entertainers,’ without really addressing a very serious issue that played out on American television for millions of people to see,” said Joe Salazar, a DNC member-elect from Colorado who was on the call, according to the Associated Press.
He added: “There were many things that could have been said to address the situation, but we didn’t understand it. We were being misled.”
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden held a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, the day after the debate, where the president was more forceful and defended his viability as a candidate, although he acknowledged that his debate performance could have been better.