Biden Drops Out of Race, Endorses Vice President Harris
Per letter posted to Xitter.
Update: A follow-up tweet endorsed Kamala.
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.
Harris accepts!
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.
President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. His remarkable work to lower prescription drug costs, fix the damn roads, bring supply chains home, address climate change, and ensure America’s global leadership over decades will go down in history. My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan. [my emphasis]
Endorsements:
The Clintons
Chris Coons
Mark Warner
Elizabeth Warren
Tammy Baldwin
Mazie Hirono
James Clyburn
Jamie Raskin
Eric Swalwell
Cori Bush
Tish James
Not endorsing:
Nancy Pelosi
Obama
Reed Hastings (one of the donors who led the attack on Biden)
Why would he announce this on Twitter?
Here it is re-reported from CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/21/biden-to-drop-out-of-2024-presidential-race.html
The source of the CNBC article:
dear god. now what.
Seems to me that the Rs are the only party with an old candidate suffering from pre-Alzheimers. Trump’s father Fred, died from Alzheimers – an inherited disease.
MAGAts will attack Kamala’s blackness and womanhood, without a doubt.
Prior to Kamala becoming VP, she was very fiery. I suspect ol’ Joe tamped-down on Kamala’s fire. I look forward to Kamala’s flame reigniting and torching Trump and his MAGAt cult.
After all, who better to remind Americans everyday that there is a convicted criminal, adjudicated sexual assaulter, adjudicated business fraudster at the top of the R ticket, than a former prosecutor?
Being a woman, Kamala can remind women voters, daily, what is at stake for them with Project 2025 and another four years of MAGAt policies.
It is my hope that Kamala carries Joe’s plans forward for the country and for the recently announced SCOTUS reforms. Kamala needs to implore Americans to give her a Congress to carry these plans forward.
If the MAGA tribe members want to go after Harris for being a person of color and a woman, let them. It’s in their DNA and it will backfire on the very groups Convict-1 has been trying to reach out with his sneakers at other schlock.
Of some concern is how poorly Harris did during the 2020 campaign as a Presidential candidate. Much of that to me is about the machine and money, and the fact that she was a first-term Senator from CA and not well known. She’s been out and about more than most VPs and has the campaign machinery and bank behind her which she did not have in 2020. Whitmer’s endorsement removes a key potential rival and I should also observe that no one dared to challenge Biden in the primaries.
So, it will be up to the DNC and whether it still do the right thing. If I were completely cynical I would suspect a behind-the-scenes play by Newsome who really wants to be POTUS, has always been business friendly (on oil and water in CA, especially) and is devious enough to try it. Having him as VP is out (12th Amendment),
As VP, perhaps Inslee of WA.
We are going to defeat trump.
Biden Drops Out of Race, Scrambling the Campaign for the White House
The president’s withdrawal under pressure from fellow Democrats after a disastrous debate cleared the way for a new nominee to take on former President Donald J. Trump in the fall. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/biden-drops-out.html
Peter Baker July 21, 2024, 1:56 p.m. ET
BIDEN endorsed HARRIS.
Dems don’t have to find a new candidate for President.
Exactly this. And if there’s any resistance, especially if it’s identified as coming primarily from big donors, to Harris heading the ticket, then the whole Dump Biden movement (thanks, NYT) will be revealed as nothing more than a charade designed to advance Trump.
Primary voters voted for a ticket, knowing full well Harris might be called upon at any time to step up. She is more than qualified to do so. If those big donors don’t like her, that probably should speak in her favor to the rest of us. And the party needs to get it together *now* if we don’t want to see a fascist landslide in November.
Agree completely – they will show their hand if they don’t give full support.
Exactly. Harris is more than qualified to be president, and she will be able to run an energetic campaign and run rhetorical rings around Trump. I think that the party will coalesce quickly behind her and the running mate she selects, especially given that she has Biden’s endorsement.
Most of the big donors will probably come around, and as for those who refuse to support the ticket? It’s safe to ignore them.
Yes, thank you.
The fitting response to President Biden’s selfless act of true leadership is to nominate his VP who he has endorsed. If the California delegation agrees with that proposal Kamala Harris will probably be the nominee. Newsom is the key endorsement.
Now there is only one old man running for president. I wonder if the press will notice?
I wouldn’t bet on it. The stories you want to see do not generate the revenue they want.
Exactly. I’d been thinking of that very thing last night, thinking “What if?” Biden decides to hang it up.
No time for dissension.
Attack, attack, attack!
Make it all about Trump every hour of every day.
We can do this. She’ll have energy. And will get women fired up and ready to reclaim their lost rights.
Sad for me. I hope Joe chose this, and was not coerced. And I hope the dems don’t flub it all up going forward.
It seems to me he was coerced. How can he hope to motivate voters when senior members of his party are calling for him to drop out. The public rather than private expressions of concern make it coercion.
I’m sure he’ll explain himself when he thinks time is right.
Just heard Joe Scarborough say his “sources” say some top dems want an open nomination process. I hope not.
I think Whitmer would be a terrific running mate. Just do it, and hit the ground running. I think America is ready for 2 strong, well qualified and determined ladies.
I am a fan of Janet Yellen. Not exactly the obvious choice, but I think she would be a terrific president.
Of course they do. Some of them may be racist/misogynists who never wanted her in the first place.
Joe took the age thing off the table. Now, it’s up to Democrats to stop their circular firing squad, settle on Kamala, fight over the VP slot, and get the job done. Their convention starts within weeks.
earlofhuntingdon
July 21, 2024 at 2:39 pm
Harris is the only logical choice. She’s already been vetted. The Biden/Harris campaign has the infrastructure already in place. Seeing as how she already holds the office one step down from the top, Biden can allow her to take a more prominent lead in any situations that may occur. Only question is, who takes the VP slot?
Not necessarily coerced. Joe’s been in politics for more than fifty years. He knows what a headwind is and what he’ll do about it.
He’s in his eighties. He has Covid, not for the first time. With the necessary campaigning, he could have had it again before his second inauguration. Unlike Trump, he doesn’t intend to die in office. Like Jimmy Carter, he’d like to live a long time yet and enjoy the fruits of his labor. He’s committed to being a good president, but he doesn’t need it to satisfy his life – or to stay out of prison.
AFAIC all this stuff is speculative now. I’d guess he’s going to get back to work, do his job, and do his best not to be a distraction. Sometime after I expect he will explain, after everything else is settled.
I agree. Seems to me acted in what he saw was his best interest and the best interest of the country. A good leader who is still president.
An hour ago it was reported that the state party chairs in ALL the battleground states sent a letter expressing full support of Biden.
Wasn’t there anyone in the inner circle able to ask them to hold on, or did they release it in secret? And how furious are they right now?
Replying to self on the first question: the staff didn’t know until 1:45.
You can’t do that without telling them why. In this context, if you hedge or say nothing, you enable a feeding frenzy of conjecture.
The only news outlet reporting this, that I can see, is USA Today which wrote:
“In a joint open letter to Democrats obtained by USA TODAY, the party chairs argued Democrats have a unified message of “freedom, democracy, and an economy that works for working people” that can beat Trump’s “MAGA threat of abortion bans, dictatorship, and giveaways to billionaires.”
“But right now, many voters aren’t hearing that from our party. We understand the anxiety. But the best antidote to political anxiety is taking action,” they wrote in the letter. “When we all lend our voices to contrasting the Democratic vision — from Biden-Harris straight down the ticket — with the MAGA nightmare, we win.”
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/21/dem-party-chairs-in-7-key-swing-states-reaffirm-support-for-biden/74486033007/
I’ve looked for a copy of the letter itself and have yet to find one.
IMHO, that’s a “unity” message.
I see no reason they would have to be “furious”.
Saw it in WaPo which has a copy.
I agree, “furious” was a personal over-reaction.
Link, please?
It’s in their Live Updates feed. I can’t see a deeplink. The letter itself is on Google docs but I guess the server seems to be refusing to accept even a broken link.
Baker/ NYT has the same single source:
Timing seems really odd too.
Why? This is Joe Biden. He made the announcement when he made the decision. He’s in his eighties, he’s exhausted, on drugs for Covid, and continues to do the job of being president.
Interesting conundrum. For a host of reasons, Harris should remain VP until the next president is inaugurated. So, who will ceremoniously count the electoral votes next time around?
she will still be Vice P until 1/21/25
And so (hopefully) ceremonially presiding over the counting of the electoral votes for herself. And thereby remove the exclusivity of the Trump’s reputation as a “norm-breaker”.
I just said that.
Remember that it was Pence last time so it will be Harris this time.
My point was that it is not normally legitimate to be a judge in your own case – or election. She could defer to the president pro tempore, assuming it’s a reliable Democrat.
Well, thanks aholes for stealing my vote.
THIS!
Yes!
With this supreme court, it’s not the last. I hope I’m wrong.
See update: Biden endorsed Harris.
Now what?
A shocker, but not a surprise. I suppose from a Democratic Party strategy perspective, there are some pluses (other than what has been widely talked about). I can imagine the huge amount of propaganda the Republican Party has been preparing against Biden. Now they are faced with…unknown. A Democratic strategy in itself, I assume.
Meanwhile, Biden can focus on the rest of his term and make important use of that time.
Repubs have been honing their messaging for this. I expect right wing media to flood their airways with whatever nausea they choose. When this possibility first surfaced about a week ago, I heard a bunch of them say she is “nothing but a DEI hire”.
I think the DEI quote came from Sebastian Gorka. IIRC.
Yes, he was one of them. Don’t recall where I saw it, but there was split screen with about 6 (including Gorka) saying exact same thing. They tend to sing from the same hymnal.
My prediction is that the sexist and racist bullshit that the Republicans will unleash (Trump, for one, will be unable to help himself) will repulse the independent voters he needs to win, especially with another misogynistic jerk like Vance on the ticket. And it will fire up Democratic enthusiasm.
But it will also be very effective in firing up the MAGA base. And I don’t necessarily have as high an opinion of independent swing voters as you seem to. I think they include plenty of moderate-conservatives liable to be turned off, if maybe subconsciously, by a woman of color at the top of the ticket.
Then again, a black man named “Barack” won handily twice, once against John McCain. I’m still amazed that happened. So what do I know?
I was actually in favor of this until I saw who was pushing for it. If they bypass vp harris I’m going to be doubly suspicious.
While I would not have chosen this option I take comfort knowing the voting public has been well primed to reject the “too old” candidate.
Also, I’m terrified.
Doesn’t really seem like the media notices Trump’s age or the demented shit that he manages to slur out.
If the Dems had the ability to cynically broadcast an earworm and feign outrage at the media like R’s did, Trump’s age and cognitive ability would be the main story from now until election day.
But they don’t
Happy for President Biden and his family. They get to step out of the target-zone.
Wonder if he would consider serving as VP another time around? /s
Bittersweet. I feel for President Biden having to make this decision. He had accomplished so much in one term.
Joe BIDEN, a Team Player and True Patriot.
Yes. And a caring and compassionate man.
Since the debate, watching dems suck the air from under his wings has been, for me, hard to watch. I worried with all Joe had on his plate at work, and now with covid, how he keeps energized with 1000 pissed off ankle biting Chihuahuas chirping and nipping at his heels.
They have allowed MAGA and right wing media to define Joe’s presidency in ugly terms. This stuff discourages me. I hope they can clean up their act for the stretch run. Especially after both Trump & JD’s convention speeches, this is first time in a good while I felt like this election is winnable.
I’ve wondered if the best move might be for Biden to resign, thereby making Harris the first female president. That should keep the press churning for months and squelch the Trump megaphone.
Hate to report strange bedfellows on this idea, but Mike Johnson just specifically called for the same (this is from BBC News website live feed):
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president,” the Republican writes on X.
“He must resign the office immediately,” Johnson adds, going on to say that polling day in the US election, 5 November, “cannot arrive soon enough”.
Who needs to hear that Mike Johnson is representing Donald Trump, not the House, his party, or the American people? He’s among the last people qualified to opine on who’s fit to be president. Next we’ll hear the same, orchestrated meme from Lindsey Graham. Ignore it.
Good luck with that Moses.
Not gonna happen. It’s not Joe. It’s not necessary. Naming a new VP would be an exhausting distraction. And because as President, Harris wouldn’t have as much time to campaign.
Thank you, Mr. President, for your extraordinary accomplishments! You have actually caused me to get all choked up with some tears. Nobody else but you, Joe Biden, could have done what you have done. I am so proud of you.
I said a prayer last night before I went to bed, something I very, very rarely do. I prayed for you and your family and for the well being of the nation and the world.
The primary reason I have been participating in Marcy’s blog is because of a terrible nightmare I had as a young child. In my nightmare the USA had become a place of fascists who committed horrifying cruelties. My whole life, in my small way, I’ve tried to warn and fight against that and to promote democracy.
I believe you will have a very honored place in history throughout time. Thank you so much. I agree with you, too. We can do this together. You have done so much to make us stronger.
Thank you for sharing (genuinely!) your thoughtful, personal post.
President Biden has been the most effective president since I started voting in 1972. His successes and his agenda need to be front and center in the campaign.
I would love to see a Biden/Harris/?VP team branding, with Biden positioned as being a “Senior Policy Advisor” to the new team. I would love seeing him out getting the praise and love he deserves from adoring crowds.
From a VP choice I have seen Mark Kelly’s name mentioned. I do not know exactly where he is on the liberal-moderate spectrum but I think he has some pluses for balancing the ticket.
Swing state with Democrat governor to fill the seat until a special election.
Astronaut
Air force
Can talk about Gun Violence and it’s impact on families.
In any event time to roll up the sleeves and get to work!
A few weeks ago a media outlet was trying to “gotcha” Senator Stabanow regarding Joe Biden’s age/ dropping out, and resorted to shouting ‘but what if it was for Harris/Whitmer?’
To which she spontaneously replied ‘wouldn’t that be something!’
A powerful female ticket might be the ticket needed to shake up the old boy network.
That would be something.
MsJennyMD wrote:
“That would be something.”
I freely admit that when I heard her say that while moving off camera, I repeated her words with a positive, emphatic profanity attached.
[If Joe Biden were to succumb to the pressure campaign]
Wow. I was hoping he’d stay in, but once he got covid, more knives came out. Oh, well… I’m voting for Harris.
Me, too.
I like Joe Biden and would have supported him.
But the age issue had become baked in after the debate. Unfairly.
I hope that the big donors and senior Democratic elected officials have a ticket in mind.
And I laugh at how much time, energy, and money Trumplicans have wasted pursuing Biden. Waiting until after the convention was great tactically.
NYTimes has exacted its pound of flesh from Biden. Now let’s hear it banging the drum to get the “unfit” Trump to withdraw.
And I laugh at how much time, energy, and money Trumplicans have wasted pursuing Biden. Waiting until after the convention was great tactically.
That’s a good point!
Harris-(B) Obama 2024?
Harris-Cheney 2024???
Harris-Whitmer 2024?
Harris-Shapiro 2024?
Harris-??????? 2024?
Roy Cooper (Governor of NC) or Andy Beshear (Governor of KY) would both be great choices. Choosing Obama would almost be worth it to watch Republicans’ heads explode, but it could potentially put a Republican Speaker of the House in line to become president.
I don’t think Barack Obama as VP would advance Johnson or whoever is Speaker in the line of succession. The 22nd Amendment precludes an individual from being *elected* President more than twice (once if they served more than two years of another’s term). The 24th Amendment says that if the Presidency become vacant, the VP “shall” become Preisdent.
You’re right. Thanks for the correction.
Lots of good D governors, but don’t overlook Jay Inslee of WA who quietly has managed his state well without the drama in OR or CA even with all of the nuts in the Palouse coming over from Idaho. I think he’s termed out as well so unlike Shapiro or Whitmer the Ds would not be trying to backfill a recent hard-won office of great importance. Whitmer or Shapiro should stay where they are.
While discussing female options, why not Jennifer Granholm (also of MI) who also has Cabinet experience?
Buttigieg?
While decrying all the malarkey to push Biden into the position of stepping aside, it seems to me the the focus now for the Democratic Party and all pro-democracy activists should be unity behind Harris as the presumptive candidate. Further infighting would be to give aid and comfort to a political opponent who is wholly unfit for office and unworthy of any assistance, and a clear and present danger to democracy.
The Harris ticket is going to face the worst that the racist misogynists in MAGA world can manufacture and throw at her. The pro-democracy forces need to be 100% behind her. The pro-democracy movement cannot afford the distractions of infighting over the ticket, nor over who did what to whom to get to this position, or bitterness over who betrayed Biden.
Yes, Trump and his henchmen will not be able to help themselves in using the worst racial and misogynists directed towards Harris. This will hopefully completely turn off any suburban voters who may have doubts about who Trump is and what he stands for.
I note that Harris has made a statement that she “plans to earn and win the nomination”
And while it may be a matter of Democratic Party rules and inner democracy that she is not technically the presumptive nominee, and astute of Harris to expressly acknowledge that process, IMHO it would be a disservice to their Party and to democracy for there to be any displays of divisiveness and a prolonged period of uncertainty to resolve any questions over Harris as candidate.
Made me sad at first, but there are very few downsides. The major upside is as Biden himself says, that he can just work (not work and campaign) for the next 6 months. I also think that this takes away some oxygen from his opponent. Trump has been campaigning exclusively against Biden for five years. If the Democrats do decide to hold an open nomination in September, that’s an entire month+ where Trump is not campaigning against any-one. He’s just the old man yelling at the clouds.
Sometimes things happen that you aren’t quite sure how you feel about them until they happen.
This is one of those things.
Reading Biden’s letter he posted, I find myself incensed that Biden has been publicly pushed out by the clamoring din of the media and big donors while giving Trump yet another free pass- the latest example as has been pointed out here is his lack of real health information following his almost assassination.
Now that it’s done it just feels like Dems have shot themselves in the foot.
If the Dems had just closed rank instead of freaking out and called media out on their favoring of Trump and their hyper focus on every little misstep of Biden at the expense of focusing on his accomplishments, with NATO for example, none of this would be happening.
I do not feel a sense of relief at all. Chaos is not a ladder Dems climb well.
Don’t do that.
Forward!
I understand your point of view, and sympathize with it to some extent, but I think you give the Dems too much agency for media decisions here. I think a lot of it is that the media, like all of us, want to feel as though they really make a difference, not just putting stuff out into the ether; this gave them a real, highly visible, opportunity to do so (whereas no amount of focus on Trump would cause him to withdraw.) And, TBF, if Biden is starting to fail mentally, that’s a real issue! It’s not even close to being the biggest one compared to Trump, but it’s not a non-issue either.
Now is the time for all good citizens to come to the aid of their country by GOTV (well, the pro-Democratic vote) in swing states!!
I have seen no reason to think Biden is failing mentally.
Well, the Democrats and Republicans have caught the car they’ve been chasing. I can’t wait to see the brilliant plan the Democratic Party has devised over the last few weeks of calling for Biden to step down. I imagine it’s a Swiss watch…
And it wasn’t Harris who pissed off the people who feel for the people in Gaza.
Be positive, people.
She will bring energy. And I doesn’t matter that maybe she would not have been my first choice had it been a clean slate primary where Biden early on decided to get out before primaries.
I believe this is winnable. Believe it.
Nancy Pelosi has been pushing hard for this outcome. Who is she pushing for the ticket?
That will be a big reveal for sure. My rep Ro Khanna was stumping for Biden as recently as yesterday (which is a moral improvement for him) but also include Schiff and Zoe Lofgren from CA in that backing.
It really has to be Harris and any RWNM backlash will backfire with the groups Convict-1 needs to get back in the WH. The good thing is that neither they nor Convict-1 will STFU.
Marcy, just wanted to say I love the picture you posted with this article on your main page. Really expresses the “picture is worth a 1000 words” thought in wonderful way. Captures everything hopeful about this moment, for both Joe and Kamala. Its things like that gives me confidence Kamala is ready.
It’s the one Biden used in his Twitter announce.
Even though I had come to believe that Biden stepping back was inevitable, it still makes me incredibly sad. He has been a great president, especially when considering the narrow majorities he had in the House and Senate. The infrastructure bill and the inflation reduction act have made very positive changes. I like Harris very much, and I hope the Democratic Party infighting can stop now…but I don’t expect it will. I saw that the Clintons have come forward to support Harris. It would be great if more influential Democrats would do the same. What happens in the next week or two will determine the direction of the country–and may have enormous impacts on my family and friends. I desperately hope Harris can lead us to a victory in November.
Harris in 2019:
with video: https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/1197243216132804608
Looking forward to the debate.
Harris’s statement: