Why did Joe Biden exit 2024 US presidential race? What led to this decision?
US President Joe Biden on Sunday announced that he is dropping his reelection bid against former president Donald Trump in the upcoming 2024 US election, sending shockwaves throughout the country’s politics.
Joe Biden, after announcing his exit, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democrats’ new presidential candidate.
Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race came after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump, and the Republican Party taking repeated jibed at him for his “inability” to complete another term as the president. The debate debacle also many Democrat lawmakers urging Joe Biden to withdraw as the presidential candidate.
What happened in the hours before Joe Biden dropped out?
The first person to receive a call from Joe Biden exiting from his reelection bid was Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, reported The Washington Post. Joe Biden also held one-to-one meetings with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, and his campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Zients called for a meeting of Joe Biden’s campaign staff and White House staff for 1:45pm, so that the US president could brief them over his decision. The chief of staff made a formal announcement regarding the same to the entire White House staff at around 2:30pm on Sunday.
Biden took the decision over the weekend through multiple huddles with White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, senior campaign adviser Mike Donilon, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal, all of whom were at the president’s vacation house, The Washington Post reported.
Why did Joe Biden end reelection bid?
The calls for Joe Biden to drop out as the US presidential face grew after his debate debacle against Donald Trump on June 27. While the US president blamed his performance on jet lag and international travel, the rank and file in the Democrat Party urged him to drop out of the race.
Opposition to Biden’s continued campaign from within his party gained steam over the past week with 36 congressional Democrats – more than one in eight – publicly calling on him to drop out, driven by concerns over his mental acuity, reported Reuters.
Lawmakers from the ruling party expressed discontent with Biden continuing on his reelection bid, saying that they feared that the US president, if elected again, could cost them not only the White House but also the chance to control either chamber of Congress next year.
Sources told news agency Reuters that Biden had a “last minute change of heart”, and up until Saturday night, had no intention to drop out of the race. The US president only changed his mind on Sunday afternoon, after multiple meetings with his top advisors.