President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he was dropping his re-election bid but would finish his term in office. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on top of the Democratic ticket.
In a letter announcing he would leave the race, Biden said, “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,” Biden said.
He went on to say he would speak to the nation about his decision later in the week.
In a statement posted to his campaign account on X, Biden put his full endorsement behind Harris.
The Democratic National Convention starts Aug. 19 in Chicago.
The pressure on Biden to step aside and allow someone else to carry the banner of the Democratic Party into November had increased over the weekend, as three more senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, advised him to exit the presidential contest with Donald Trump.
Harris for her part praised Biden’s decision and committed herself to the race.
“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else," Harris said in a statement released by the Biden campaign.
She went on, “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. 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.” Project 2025 is a governing agenda proposed by the Heritage Foundation but recently disavowed by Trump.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack noted that he has known Biden for 38 years and said “he has consistently and selflessly put our country first—and today is no exception. As a result, he will go down in history as one of our most consequential American presidents.”
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer praised Biden's decision. On X, he said, "Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he's a truly amazing human being. 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."
But former President Donald Trump blasted Biden in a post on Truth Social: "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. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t."
Senate GOP Whip John Thune of South Dakota said in a statement on X that "it doesn’t matter who’s at the top of the ticket. The Democrat Party is synonymous with higher prices, open borders, and global instability. The American people want a change. Republicans will deliver it this November."
A new Detroit Free Press poll released Sunday has Trump up by seven points in Michigan, a critical state for the president.
Manchin, formerly a Democrat but now an independent, made his announcement Sunday, not long before Biden posted his decision.
Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Manchin said, "I came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it's time to pass the torch to the new generation."
Speaking on the same show, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., directly questioned Biden's current fitness for office. "He's not the Joe Biden of even four years ago when he ran for office. He's not capable of doing it now. And it's not his fault. I mean, no one can help how they age, how quickly they age and how their faculties diminish."
Heinrich and Brown both spoke out Friday, with Brown, locked in a difficult re-election race, saying Democrats need to be focused on “important issues” such as the fentanyl crisis and preventing a national ban on abortion.
Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Peter Welch of Vermont also called last week for Biden to get out of the race. In all, about three dozen Democratic lawmakers — including a few independents who caucus with Democrats — had made the same recommendation, according to The Washington Post. They included Reps. Jim Costa, a senior member of the House Ag Committee, Betty McCollum of Minnesota, Zoe Lofgren of California, and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin.
Biden and his campaign had insisted up to moment he stepped aside that he was in the race to win it, even as media reports indicated growing discontent among Democratic lawmakers and polls showing most Americans thought he should end his campaign.
A former California attorney general, Harris was elected to the Senate in 2016 to succeed fellow Democrat Barbara Boxer. Her four-year tenure did not produce a long voting record on agriculture and trade policy, but she supported the 2018 farm bill and took stands on some rural issues.
She also traveled Iowa extensively during her relatively short presidential campaign that ended in December 2019, two months before the Iowa caucuses.
She was one of only 10 senators to vote against the USMCA implementing bill.
“Trade policy for me is always going to be about protecting American workers, about protecting our environment and having those part of our priorities. It is for that reason and many others that I am not in favor of what I call NAFTA 2.0,” she told reporters at the Iowa State Fair in August 2019, explaining her opposition to USMCA.
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