President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday after a nearly month-long pressure campaign by Democratic leaders and donors to oust him.
“Serving as your President has been the greatest honor of my life,” Biden Written in a letter to X on Sunday. “And while I intend to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of the party and the country for me to step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
The letter did not provide further details on how Democrats might decide on their next nominee, but Biden wrote that he would “speak to the nation later this week to provide more details on my decision.”
Biden called Vice President Kamala Harris “an extraordinary partner” in the letter, and then posted to give her his “full support and endorsement.” If Harris takes over, she would likely gain control of the $240 million campaign fund the campaign has raised over the past few years, according to CNBC. Donors and, as reported, Nancy Pelosi has spoken out in favor of some kind of open nomination process.
Biden’s unprecedented decision came at the end of a remarkable three-week stretch that began with a debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump in late June. During that debate, Biden, whose age and physical condition were already major election issues, appeared nearly incoherent at times.
Then donors, newspaper editorial boards and elected officials began calling for his resignation.
Major Democratic donors Laurene Powell Jobs and Ron Conway, among others, have begun discussing how to replace Biden before or during the Democratic National Convention, the New York Times reported.
Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn and a Biden donor, told WIRED earlier this month: “I’ve seen some emails from people in Silicon Valley saying, ‘I’m not going to donate any more until I’m more confident.
Many Democrats, including some key Biden allies, have also raised concerns about the president’s viability as a future candidate and have reportedly launched pressure campaigns to encourage Biden to drop out of the race. In television interviews immediately following the debate, party leaders like Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn said it was fair to question Biden’s fitness to hold office. “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?'” Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly told the president that party members were concerned about runoff elections if Biden remained in office. Others, like Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, along with some representativescalled on Biden to drop out of the election.
A brief assassination attempt on Trump appeared to quell the rebellion, but reports that Pelosi and Schumer had directly told Biden they did not believe he had a viable path to reelection suggested Biden’s political support had collapsed and seemed to spell the end. Pelosi also privately told Biden that polls were showing a worsening forecast for the Democratic Party with Biden leading, according to CNN.
The Democratic nominee will face a Republican Party energized by the populist victory and alliances with Silicon Valley powerhouses like Elon Musk — both represented by 39-year-old JD Vance, who backed Peter Thiel to become vice president and Trump’s apparent successor.
“Crooked Joe Biden is not qualified to run for President and is certainly not qualified to serve,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Previously, Vance posted “If Joe Biden ends his re-election campaign, how can he justify continuing to be President?”
“Now, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of those who worked hard to help me win re-election,” Biden wrote.
This is a developing story.
