President Biden Drops Out of 2024 Race

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid on Sunday, announcing to the nation that after days of pressure from members of his own party, he’d decided to “stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

The one-page letter, posted to the president’s social media accounts, marked a stunning end to a 54-year political career that began with his election to the New Castle, Delaware, county council in 1970.

In a second post, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Biden first came to Washington in 1972, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate for the first time, becoming one the youngest U.S. senators ever in the process.

Voters in Delaware reelected him to the Senate six more times, and he went on to serve as vice president under President Barack Obama for two terms, before being elected president himself in 2020.

In fact, Biden never lost a general election. He did, however, fail to win the Democratic nomination for president, in 1984, 1988 and 2008.

It should be noted that every winning Democratic presidential ticket in the 21st century thus far has had Biden on the ticket, either as president or vice president.

In his letter, Biden described serving the American people as president as “the greatest honor” of his life, and said he would speak to the nation later in the week to explain his decision in more detail.

“For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected,” he wrote. “I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work.

“And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me,” he said.

Reflecting on his presidency, Biden said “over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a nation.”

“Today, America has the strongest economy in the world,” he continued. “We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug prices for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans.

“We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American women to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.”

The president added: “I know none of this could have been done without you, 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.”

“I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America,” he said in conclusion.

In his second social media post, Biden said his “very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president. 

“And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” he said, adding, ”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.”

Despite Biden’s endorsement, the nearly 3,900 delegates that had been planning or pledged to back his nomination at the convention are in no way obligated to support Harris.

That leaves two paths for her replacing him at the top of the Democratic ticket.

One would be for the party to go ahead with a planned virtual vote in early August to lock in a candidate before delegates gather in Chicago for the convention on Aug. 19.

The other would be for her to secure the nomination at an “open” convention in which she would possibly have to compete against other contenders.

If that scenario played out, the situation on the ground in Chicago could become a free-for-all — and remember the last time there was an open and contested convention was when Democrats gathered in Chicago in 1968, and all chaos ensued.

How the party will proceed is unclear.

In a statement released about an hour after Biden’s announcement, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said only that “in the coming days, the party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.

“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people,” Harrison said, adding, “In short order, the American people will hear from the Democratic Party on next steps and the path forward for the nomination process.”

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