Joe Biden ending reelection campaign, endorses Kamala Harris to succeed him

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WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — President Joe Biden, facing mounting pressure from fellow Democrats to step aside as the party’s presumptive nominee, announced Sunday he will not seek reelection in November against former President Donald Trump.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, 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,” a statement from Biden read in part.

He also shared his “full support and endorsement” for his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, as the Democratic candidate.

“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,” a subsequent post read in part.

Prior to the announcement, the president and vice president spoke to each other, a source familiar with the matter confirmed with NewsNation.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Harris intends to earn nomination

Harris shared a statement thanking Biden for his leadership, adding that his “remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched” and she will do her best to continue it when she competes for the White House this November.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said in a statement hours after receiving the commander in chief’s endorsement. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

In the statement, she also recounted how she became acquainted with the Biden family through his son Beau, who was the attorney general of Delaware when she held the same position in California.

“And the qualities Beau revered in his father are the same qualities, the same values, I have seen every single day in Joe’s leadership as President: His honesty and integrity,” she wrote in part. “His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people.”

A source told NewsNation that, after Biden’s decision was announced, Harris began making calls to key Democratic officials, senators and governors to shore up support for her White House bid.

The president is also part of the outreach. Biden has reportedly spoken to multiple members of Congress, governors and supporters, per a White House official.

Harris’ campaign fundraising

In the first day of her presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris brought in over $46.7 million donations, according to ActBlue.

The nonprofit fundraising platform shared the news via X, adding: “This has been the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle. Small-dollar donors are fired up and ready to take on this election.”

Previously, ActBlue said Harris’ campaign raked in more than $27 million in the first five hours of its activation, which it attributed to grassroot supporters.

Her Sunday boost in funding adds to the already large pool from the Biden-Harris campaign, which recently reported just over $91 million on hand.

Allied Democratic campaign committees brought the total at his disposal to more than $240 million, leaving Harris with a nice cushion as she reportedly continues to shore support in Washington.

Since that campaign was set up in both Biden and Harris’ names, she also has access to those funds, Kenneth Gross, a senior political law counsel and a former associate general counsel for the Federal Election Commission, told the Associated Press earlier in July.

Trump-Harris polling numbers

The latest polling average from Decision Desk Headquarters puts Trump at 47.4% and Harris 45.4%. Since the debate, Harris is up nearly 5 points, while Trump has gained 0.4 points head-to-head.

Biden’s numbers, however, dropped from trailing Trump by 2.5 points before the debate to nearly 4.5 points after his on-stage gaffes.

Harris’ favorability rating is similar to Biden’s, but the share of Americans who have an unfavorable view of her is lower than the president’s.

A recent AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found about 4 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable opinion of Harris, while about half have an unfavorable opinion. There are more Americans with a negative view of Biden: approximately 6 in 10.

Why did Biden drop out?

Biden announced the decision to withdraw after his campaign struggled to regain support from the party following his performance in the first presidential debate June 27.

Immediately after the debate, donors and Democratic lawmakers began privately expressing fears about the president’s ability to win reelection in November.

Those calls became more public as donors threatened to withdraw funding and an increasing number of Democrats publicly called on Biden to step aside and pass the torch to another generation of leaders.

While Democratic leaders publicly expressed support for Biden, reports indicated they were increasingly privately urging the president to consider backing out. Those reported to be putting pressure on the president included Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and former President Barack Obama.

The president’s efforts to rally his party and voters faltered as he experienced verbal gaffes in critical interviews. However, he continued to reiterate his commitment to staying in the race, saying that polls showed he could beat Trump.

Following an assassination attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally July 13, the Biden-Harris campaign pulled advertising, and the president addressed the country with a firm condemnation of political violence.

Biden’s campaign suffered another setback when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 17, forcing him to cancel campaign events and self-isolate in Delaware.

How will replacing Biden work?

Since Biden willingly stepped aside before he was officially nominated during the Democratic National Convention, his 3,896 pledged delegates are free to vote for whomever they choose at the convention. His endorsement of Harris could carry some weight, though.

All potential candidates will make their case at the DNC, and delegates will then vote for their party nominee. To win the nomination, a candidate needs to earn support from the majority of delegates.

There’s also a chance Democrats rally around a candidate before the convention, in which case, a free-for-all contested convention would not come to pass. Biden’s delegates would simply back the new nominee when it comes time to vote.

Reactions to Biden’s departure from race

Trump reacted to the news Sunday on Truth Social, saying, “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!”

Republicans echoed Trump’s opinion on the president’s exit from the presidential race, while Democrats are praising the 81-year-old Biden’s decision.

“Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he is a truly amazing human being,” said Schumer in a statement. “His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first. Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American,” Schumer concluded.

Pelosi called Biden “a patriotic American who has always put our country first.

Current House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Biden’s withdrawal speaks ill of the president and his party.

“Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite,” Johnson wrote.

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson added.

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