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Washington. In a letter posted to his official account on X, President Joe Biden declared he will not seek re-election. In a follow-up post, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
‘It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,’ Biden wrote. ‘And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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.’
Biden mentioned he would address the nation later this week with more details.
In his subsequent post, Biden praised Harris and encouraged Democrats to support her.
‘My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,’ Biden wrote. ‘And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.’
Biden’s decision follows weeks of concern about his stamina and mental capabilities, and doubts about his ability to effectively campaign against former President Donald Trump and govern the country for another four years. His announcement is likely to spark questions about his capacity to serve out the remainder of his term.
This marks the first time in decades that a US president has opted out of a re-election bid, reminiscent of President Lyndon Johnson’s decision in 1968. However, Biden’s announcement comes later in the campaign. This development is the latest in a highly charged political season that included an attempt on Trump’s life.
Even the attempted assassination and its impact on the race couldn’t halt the loss of support Biden was experiencing among congressional Democrats, who feared a poor performance in November could also hurt their down-ballot races.
This decision concludes a political career spanning half a century, beginning with Biden as one of the youngest senators in US history and ending as the oldest president.
Concerns about Biden’s age and mental faculties have been persistent since his 2020 run against Trump. His poor performance at a 27 June CNN debate—where he spoke softly, appeared glazed-over, and lost his train of thought mid-sentence—brought these concerns to the forefront and ultimately doomed his re-election campaign.
Biden’s team had hoped the debate would highlight the stakes if Trump were to regain the White House, but it backfired, reinforcing worries about Biden’s candidacy.
The president’s debate performance shocked donors, allies, and the 50 million Americans who watched him struggle. The White House and Biden campaign scrambled to explain his condition, initially attributing it to a cold, and later to jet lag from international travel.
Campaign officials and surrogates attempted to calm Democratic anxieties, arranging meetings with donors and supporters to assure them that Biden’s performance was a one-off and to consider his three-and-a-half-year presidency.
Biden acknowledged the poor debate performance almost immediately. At a rally the next day, he sought to project energy and confidence.
‘I don’t walk as easy as I used to,’ Biden said. ‘I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to. But I know what I do know: I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done.’
However, the damage was done.
By the following Monday, discussions about replacing Biden on the ticket became widespread. The atmosphere at the White House and Biden’s campaign headquarters grew tense. Biden made brief remarks on the Supreme Court’s decision that day, urging voters to ‘dissent.’
The next day, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first congressional Democrat to publicly ask Biden to withdraw. The calls for his exit continued to grow.
Major donors also expressed their concerns. Actor George Clooney, a long-time Biden supporter, wrote in a 10 July New York Times op-ed that Democrats ‘are not going to win in November with this president’ and called for a new nominee.
Initially, Biden was determined to stay in the race. However, as more supporters defected and leading Democrats voiced their concerns, Biden began to consider stepping aside.
In a 5 July interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Biden laughed off questions about his future, stating only the ‘Lord Almighty’ could convince him to drop out.
Stephanopoulos later confided to a passer-by that he also doubted Biden could serve another term.
Biden told reporters at a NATO news conference he would drop out if polls showed he couldn’t win. About a week later, he said he would reconsider if he developed a medical condition that affected his candidacy. The next day, the White House announced Biden had Covid-19.
The assassination attempt on Trump on 13 July briefly halted calls for Biden to step down and shifted national attention. However, the reprieve was short-lived. On 17 July, Rep. Adam Schiff became the first House Democrat to call for Biden’s resignation since the assassination attempt, and more followed.
Biden’s reconsideration of his candidacy was closely linked to efforts by his allies to persuade him that victory was unlikely. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Biden weeks after the debate that polls indicated he could not win.
A senior Democratic adviser told CNN that Biden was becoming ‘receptive’ to discussions about stepping aside: ‘He’s gone from saying, ‘Kamala can’t win,’ to ‘Do you think Kamala can win?’