President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he's dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. “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,” the statement reads in part.
Biden went on to offer his “full support and endorsement” for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic nominee.
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This stunning turn of events was kicked off by a disastrous June debate performance against Donald Trump that prompted prominent Democratic officials and members of the media to question his ability to win reelection. The debate significantly ratcheted up the tenor of the doubts around his abilities — particularly over his age — that have trailed his four years in office. Multiple poll averages showed Trump expanding his lead over Biden in recent weeks.
The President’s announcement comes just 105 days before Election Day, and a month ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, where the party will have to choose and announce its nominee. Trump accepted the Republican nomination at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, days after surviving an assassination attempt at a campaign rally.
While CNN reports that Biden faced “little opposition” during the primary season, hundreds of thousands of voters made their displeasure with both candidates clear by voting “uncommitted,” in an effort to send a message regarding the President’s Gaza policy. In January 2024, Gen Z voters told Teen Vogue they were less likely to vote given the sense of a “false choice” between Trump and Biden, repeating the 2020 election. Following the debate, young voters told Teen Vogue’s 2024 student correspondents “they feel left on their own in this election, with no real option that represents their vision for the future.”
Democratic leaders including Senator Bernie Sanders and former president Barack Obama were quick to praise Biden in the wake of his decision. In a statement, Obama praised Biden as “one of America’s most consequential presidents."
“Joe has never backed down from a fight,” Obama said. “For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America. It’s a testament to Joe Biden’s love of country — and a historic example of a genuine public servant once again putting the interests of the American people ahead of his own that future generations of leaders will do well to follow.”
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