Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race in a political earthquake never seen this close to an election.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic nominee to take on Donald Trump in November.
The
81-year-old president had faced a growing clamor from within his own
party to step aside after a disastrous debate performance last month
where he delivered a series of nonsensical answers.
The weeks after the debate sparked a series of fumbles the President could not recover from.
Biden
announced his historic decision in a one-page letter and admitted it
was not in the best interests of the United States for him to seek
reelection.
He committed to finishing his term but Republicans called on him to resign immediately.
'It
has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,'
Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account on Sunday.
'And
while it has been my intention to seek reelection,' he went on, '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.'
Although Biden had been under immediate
pressure the stunning announcement came with no warning and many of his
own staff and supporters in Congress appeared to be blindsided.
'No one had a heads up before the tweet posted,' one Biden campaign worker told DailyMail.com. 'Which, to me, is an insane way to treat the 1,300 people that work for you on the campaign.'
Earlier
on Sunday a slew of Biden's allies went on the airwaves to insist the
President was not stepping down and would continue his reelection
efforts.
Biden said in his letter that
he would speak in more detail about his decision in remarks to the
country later this week. He also sent a quick follow-up post pushing for
Harris to take over his campaign.
Last
week, Biden was pulled from the campaign trail after he was diagnosed
with COVID-19 for the third time in the middle of a west coast swing.
This led to even more speculation that he would soon drop out of the
race.
It came after the showdown
against Trump last month where Biden was often seen on split screen with
his mouth agape and a million-mile blank stare. During his time to
speak at the podium, the President would stumble, freeze, lose his train
of thought and mumble his way through answers to moderator's
questions.
At one point just 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.'
Trump went on to a post-debate rally in Chesapeake, Virginia where
he said he was skeptical Biden would actually drop out of the race,
claiming Democrats don't have a better option against him in November.
The former president's immediate response to Biden's decision came in a call to CNN on Sunday.
'He
is the worst president in the history of our country,' the former
president said. 'He goes down as the single worst president by far in
the history of our country.'
Trump added that he thinks Harris will be even easier to defeat than Biden.
At
his first rally after being shot, Trump already tried out a new
nickname for her as he saw the writing on the wall for Harris taking
over the Democrats' campaign.
'From
the moment we take back the White House from crooked Joe Biden and
Kamala ... I call her laughing Kamala. You ever watch her? She's crazy,'
Trump said at his rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Saturday.
He added: 'You can tell a lot by laughter she's crazy. She's nuts. She's not as crazy as Nancy [Pelosi].'
The
former president also took to his Truth Social account on Sunday
afternoon to respond to the news that he will no longer face Biden in
November.
'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,' he wrote. 'All those around him, including
his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn't capable of being
President, and he wasn't.'
Trump concluded: 'We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly.'
Biden
was not yet the Democratic Party's official nominee and there is still a
short time to replace him before the Democratic National Convention
next month and avoid an open convention.
The
party's nomination event falls August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois. It
now appears that Harris will be at the top of the Democratic ticket by
the end of that week after primary voters cast their ballots for Biden
to be the nominee.
Biden announced his historic
decision to step aside in a one-page letter where he committed to
completing his term, but did not fully endorse Vice President Kamala
Harris as his replacement
Moments after his announcement, Biden posted to X an endorsement of Harris to take over his campaign
Harris was initially furious over reports
she was not being considered for the spot – but it soon became clear to
Democrats she was the best option to replace Biden.
Now
kicks off the veepstakes for the current VP to choose her No. 2. Among
the short list could be the likes of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both previously floated as potential
replacements for Biden if he would drop out.
A
local NBC affiliate in Sacramento, California reported on Sunday that
Newsom has abruptly canceled his appearance at the U.S. Ninth Circuit
judicial conference scheduled for Monday without any reason given.
Trump
was among those that speculated former First Lady Michelle Obama would
jump in the race and lead the 2024 Democratic ticket. She so far has
polled best out of any other potential Biden replacements.
But Biden made it clear that he is backing his VP for the 2024 race.
'My
very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala
Harris as my Vice President,' the President wrote on X. 'And it's been
the best decision I've made.'
He added:
'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. '
Others
flocked to endorse Harris, including Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep.
Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who wrote on X: 'Democrats must immediately
unite so we can focus on winning in November. I look forward to casting
my vote for Kamala Harris and doing everything I can to ensure she
becomes our next president.'
What now? VP Harris is the most
likely replacement for Biden since she was already on the ticket with
him and served four years as his No. 2. Pictured: Harris campaigns in
the swing state of North Carolina on Thursday, July 18
Some speculate either California Gov. Gavin Newsom or Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer could be selected as Harris' running mate
Rep.
James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said before Biden's bombshell announcement that
the party needs to unite behind a candidate. He said an open convention
would cause Democrats lose in November against Trump.
'If
you go to the convention, have an open process in the convention, It
will come out the same way it came out in 1968, 1972 and 1980,' Clyburn
told CNN State of the Union host Jake Tapper on Sunday morning.
'When
we had a contested process on the floor of the convention in 1980, we
lost an incumbent president, and in 1972, we carried one state,
Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia,' he explained. 'And all of
us know what happened in 1968 when we ran Lyndon Johnson out of the
race, with a great record Lyndon Johnson had, got rid of him over one
issue, the Vietnam War.'
'Here, we are now using one issue to get rid of a president, the result would be the same.'
House
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) warned earlier on Sunday that Democrats
will 'run into some legal impediments' if they tried to replace Biden on
the ticket.
Speaking to ABC This Week host Marth Raddatz, he said: '14 million Democrats voted to make Joe Biden the nominee.'
'It would be wrong and I think unlawful in
accordance with some of these states' laws for a handful of people to
go in the backroom and switch it out because they don't like a candidate
any longer.'
'That's not how this is supposed to work,' Johnson added.
Both Newsom and Whitmer have denied before
and after the debate that they are seeking to replace Biden on the
ballot and Newsom said he would not run against friend and ally Harris.
'President
Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it
takes to defeat Donald Trump,' Whitmer posted to X on Sunday after the
President ended his reelection bid.
She added: 'My job in this election will
remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop
Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families' costs,
banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House
to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan.'
Newsom responded by claiming Biden's single term was 'extraordinary' and 'history-making.'
'He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.'
Biden
and his team and allies spent the weeks after the debate in damage
control mode trying to quell concerns that the President is no longer
fit for a second term.
And despite
many party leaders and campaign officials defending Biden's
performance, Democrats were in an all-out panic after the President
stumbled and mumbled his way through the debate.
The
campaign said Biden's raspy and hard-to-hear voice was the result of a
cold and tried to sell the line that it was just a 'slow start.'
But
lawmakers saw through that – and nearly 40 Democratic members of
Congress called on Biden to end his reelection campaign in the weeks
after the debate. Among those lawmakers were some top Democrats – like
Rep. Adam Schiff – and close allies of Biden.
Senate
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Biden this afternoon, a source
familiar with the call confirmed to DailyMail.com.
President Joe Biden and First
Lady Jill Biden held a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina the day
after the debate where the President appeared more energetic and
defended his viability as a candidate while acknowledging his debate
performance could have been better
Some felt First Lady Jill Biden was the only pushing for her 81-year-old husband to remain on the ballot.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) accused the first lady of 'elder abuse'
and Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) wrote on X: 'As a geriatric nurse
practitioner who cared for so many older adults with cognitive
impairment, this [debate] is heartbreaking to watch…'
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden's campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez held a call the
weekend after the debate where they sought to reassure rank and file
members of the party of his continued viability as a candidate.
According
to some on the call, the party leaders largely ignored Biden's weak
showing 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.
The members felt
gaslighted by Harrison and Rodriguez and claimed they were being asked
to ignore the ire situation of the party's predicament – either toe the
line and get behind Biden's candidacy or scramble to find a replacement
in just one month's time.
Harrison offered what they described as a rosy assessment of Biden's path forward.
'I
was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, 'Hey,
let's go out there and just be cheerleaders,' without actually
addressing a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for
millions of people to see,' Joe Salazar, an elected DNC member from
Colorado who was on the call, said, according to the Associated Press .
He
added: 'There were a number of things that could have been said in
addressing the situation. But we didn't get that. We were being gaslit.'
2 comments:
So instead of a brain-burnt senile old far we get an autistic hyena. I don't think so.
Good Riddance! (USA)
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