President Joe Biden bows out of 2024 presidential race, endorses VP Harris

WASHINGTON, DC — President Joe Biden has announced that he will no longer run for president in November.

The move comes just weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and after weeks of high-profile Democrats urging Biden to step aside, saying he will not be able to win against former President Donald Trump.

In a statement posted to his official account on X, formerly known as Twitter, the president said it is “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.”

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The process to replace Biden this close to an election is a complicated one. Because he’s stepping aside before the DNC, his pledged delegates are free to back other candidates and Democrats would choose a nominee at the convention.

In a separate post made just minutes after his initial announcement, the president endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as who he believes should be the Democratic candidate in November.

Around 4 p.m. Sunday, Harris released a statement, saying:

“On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office.

“It is a profound honor to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Dr. Biden, and the entire Biden family. I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau. We were friends from our days working together as Attorneys General of our home states. As we worked together, Beau would tell me stories about his Dad. The kind of father—and the kind of man—he was. 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. His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people.

“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.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. 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.

“We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

“If Biden were not to endorse his Vice President, then there would be a mini-campaign to recruit and win the support of a majority of the delegates,” Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University, told Time Magazine.

During that mini-campaign a candidate would need to secure a majority of delegates to get the nomination.

More political experts believe that Biden would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to run in his place.

The calls to have Biden step aside came after the presidential debate held here in Atlanta in June at the CNN studio on Techwood Drive.

By the end of the 90-minute showdown, the Democratic president’s allies — party strategists and rank-and-file voters alike — descended into all-out panic following a debate performance punctuated by repeated stumbles, uncomfortable pauses, and a quiet speaking style that was often difficult to understand.

Biden said he wasn’t feeling well, and the debate followed several trips to several different countries in the days leading up to the debate.

In the days since, the calls for him to consider stepping aside have grown stronger and stronger, coming from heavy hitters in the Democratic Party like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and even his former boss, former President Barack Obama.

As of Thursday, the latest Associated Press/NORC poll showed that only about three in 10 Democrats are extremely or very confident that he has the mental capability to serve effectively as president.

The poll also found that younger Democrats are especially likely to want to see him bow out – and to say they’re dissatisfied with him. Three-quarters of Democrats under the age of 45 want Biden to drop out, compared to about 6 in 10 of those who are older.

Biden has been in the political arena for more than 50 years. At just age 29, Biden became one of the youngest Americans ever elected to the United States Senator.

As Senator, Biden “played a leading role in addressing some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges, including writing the Violence Against Women Act. As Vice President, he worked alongside President Obama to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, oversee the then-largest economic recovery plan in history, and strengthen American leadership on the world stage,” the White House website said.

He stayed in the Senate until becoming Vice President under Obama, and ultimate President in 2020.

After officially taking office in 2021, Biden worked to “get America vaccinated and jumpstart an economic recovery that created more jobs than any other President has created in four years.”

“His Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is rebuilding our roads and bridges, removing lead pipes, and expanding high-speed internet access. His Inflation Reduction Act is the largest investment in climate action in history. And his CHIPS and Science Act is making cutting-edge technology here in America with American workers,” the White House said.

Biden will now remain in office until the next President takes the oath on Jan. 20, 2025.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN RELATED NEWS:

President Biden, former President Trump campaigns talk new safety precautions

©2024 Cox Media Group