Biden leaves the race for reelection,
upending the administration
22/10/2024,
US President Joe Biden has withdrawn his reelection bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic contender, an unprecedented move that upends the already tumultuous race for the White House.
Joe Biden, 81, said in a written statement that he was retiring “in the best interest of my party and the country,” while considering his time in office the “greatest honour.”
With this statement, he ends the turbulent time in US politics that started on June 27 with his occasionally meandering performance in a debate against Donald Trump.
Mr. Biden says he’ll be president through January.
In addition to announcing her goal to “earn and win this nomination” and mobilise the nation against Trump, Ms Harris, 59, thanked everyone for the endorsement and described herself as “honoured”.
“We have 107 days left until election day,” she declared.
Together, we shall fight. And together, we’ll succeed.”
Even though Ms. Harris has several high-profile party figures behind her, she has not yet been officially nominated, and that may not happen until the Democratic National Convention in August.
Along with him, several prominent Republicans expressed their disapproval and demanded that Mr Biden quit the White House and the Democratic candidature immediately.
Potential competitors of Harris fall in line
As the party’s nominee for the November election, Kamala Harris was endorsed by former president Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who pledged to “fight with everything we’ve got to elect her”.
Mr Obama did not openly support Ms Harris or any other candidate, even if he expressed his “extraordinary confidence” that an “outstanding nominee would emerge”.
I have not heard from Ms. Pelosi.
First among Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw from his reelection campaign, Senator Peter Welch called for an “open process” to choose Harris’s opponent.
However, there are already indications that a large number of party members will unite behind her, including prominent leaders who were tipped to challenge Mr Biden for the nomination should he step down.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California, who is rumoured to be a presidential candidate, complimented Mr.
Biden as “selfless” and stated that he supported Ms. Harris because she was “fearless” and “tenacious” in her opposition to Trump.
“I will do everything in my power to help elect Kamala Harris as the 47th President of the United States,” declared Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.
Joe Biden was referred to as “one of the most consequential presidents in American history” by former presidential contender and current transport secretary Pete Buttigieg, who also promised to “do everything in my power to help elect Kamala Harris the next President.”
Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, stated that her responsibilities “will remain the same… doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump.”
Concurrently, the DNC submitted a request to change the names of its fundraising committees to the Harris Action Fund and Harris Victory Fund.
Reid Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn, and financier Alexander Soros, two significant Democratic contributors, openly supported Harris.
Additionally, an advertisement criticising Mr. Harris with the accusation that “she covered up Joe’s obvious mental decline” was posted by the pro-Trump super-PAC campaign fund Make America Great Again within an hour of Mr.
Biden’s statement.
Trump continued: “Whoever the Left puts up now will just be more of the same.”
weeks of close observation
Ever since his June debate performance, Mr. Biden has been under close examination. He threw a high-profile conference with NATO leaders in Washington less than two weeks ago.
The event did little to defuse tensions within his party, as he seemed to refer to Ms. Harris as “Vice President Trump” and introduced Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, as “President Putin.”
He once stated in an interview that only the “Lord Almighty” could force him to leave, but he later stated that if he had a medical ailment, he would think about doing so.
He said on Friday that he would hit the campaign route again the following week while being held in isolation following a positive test for COVID-19.
Mr Biden expressed his gratitude to Ms Harris in his Sunday statement, calling her an “extraordinary partner”.
“And let me express my heartfelt appreciation for the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me,” he stated.
“I firmly believe, both now and in the past, that, when we work together, there is nothing America cannot do.
We simply need to keep in mind that we are the United States of America.
Democratic National Committee officials convened an emergency meeting on Sunday night.
Now, attention will be directed towards the party’s national convention, which is set to begin on August 19.
The delegates from each state attending the convention were expected to vote for Mr. Biden because he won the party’s primaries handily. However, they may now be free to cast their ballots for another candidate.
I have not heard from Ms. Pelosi.
First among Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw from his reelection campaign, Senator Peter Welch called for an “open process” to choose Harris’s opponent.
Additionally, an advertisement criticising Mr. Harris with the accusation that “she covered up Joe’s obvious mental decline” was posted by the pro-Trump super-PAC campaign fund Make America Great Again within an hour of Mr.
Ever since his June debate performance, Mr. Biden has been under close examination. He threw a high-profile conference with NATO leaders in Washington less than two weeks ago.
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