WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, ending a weeks-long crisis within the Democratic Party over his viability against former President Donald Trump in November after a disastrous debate performance last month laid bare concerns over his age.
Biden, 81, had faced growing pressure since his June 27 debate performance in Atlanta from top Democratic lawmakers, who feared that Biden’s flagging support risked an electoral wipeout from the White House to both houses of Congress.
The president resisted calls to drop out of the race for several weeks, vowing to stay in as the Democratic nominee after winning the party’s largely uncontested primary.
But polling data began to show Biden losing ground in an expanding map of battleground states, wealthy donors started withholding their funds, and leading Democrats in the House and Senate made personal entreaties for him to exit the race, forcing him to reconsider.
Biden’s decision to withdraw means that he will release delegates pledged to him at the Democratic National Convention, scheduled to begin on August 19 in Chicago.
The following is the statement Biden released this afternoon on X:
My Fellow Americans,
Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.
I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.
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.
I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.
I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.
Joe R. Biden, Jr.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
By MICHAEL WILNER/Miami Herald