JOE Biden has ended his reelection bid and announced he’s stepping down from the 2024 presidential race.
On July 21, the president caved into pressure after the fallout of his disastrous June 27 debate performance, where Biden‘s cognitive decline was highlighted during the primetime event.
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Biden posted to X on Sunday announcing he was pulling out
“Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation,” he started.
“Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for serious, 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.”
He went on, “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.
Top Democrats feared the party’s future was in jeopardy with Biden’s approval rating tanking after the debate.
Biden’s departure from the campaign trail also comes after West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin implored Biden to drop out.
“He will go down with a legacy unlike many people,” Manchin said while appearing on This Week with George Stephanopoulos.
He’s one of the finest and truly a patriot American.”
“So with that, I come with a heavy heart and think that the time has come for him to pass the torch to a younger generation,” Manchin said.
Many of the people urging Biden to step down include former national security officials.
The officials have all signed a letter imploring Biden to step down for the good of the US.
“With the deepest appreciation for your many decades of inspired leadership, we strongly believe that ongoing concerns surrounding your continued candidacy,” the letter obtained by CNN read.
“And the growing likelihood of an electoral college victory for Donald Trump put your national security accomplishments — and our country and your legacy — at an unacceptable level of risk.”
“Donald Trump’s vision, approach, and expressed intentions concerning our nation’s security are in fundamental conflict with the values and principles for which you have stood.”
“We strongly believe that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership, and we respectfully urge you to do so,” it concludes.
The letter has since been signed by 56 people who have served in multiple administrations, including former ambassadors and former high-ranking foreign policy officials.
Former US ambassador to the Czech Republic John Shattuck and a former National Security Council official during the Bill Clinton administration, Eric Shultz helmed the letter.
Sources close to the pair revealed that they have already sent the letter to the White House.
And, with Donald Trump riding a sky-high wave of momentum after surviving an assassination attempt on July 13, Democrats worried about losing winnable seats in the House and Senate to the GOP.
In the weeks since the first presidential debate, reports began to surface that Democratic leaders were holding closed-door meetings with the 81-year-old president and, at times, without him.
The anxious atmosphere in these confidential meetings was described as a total meltdown of the Democratic Party, according to The New York Times.
Rattled Dem leaders even privately told President Biden on several occasions that he needed to step aside and let another candidate take over to challenge the Republican Party, the outlet reported.
DEMS TURN ON BIDEN
These meetings reportedly included heavyweight Democrats like Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Schumer told Biden in Delaware on July 13 that it would be best for him to drop out, according to ABC News.
Pelosi reportedly told Biden that he could destroy Democrats’ chance of taking back the House.
The scrutiny surrounding the president’s health and inability to lead was too glaring for Democrats to ignore, according to Axios.
Former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton remained eerily quiet as the walls caved in on Biden’s hopes for a second term.
At the time, Obama and Clinton defended Biden in the aftermath of the debate, calling it a bad night.
But, weeks removed from the debate, Obama told allies that his former vice president’s path to victory in the 2024 election “greatly diminished,” according to The Washington Post.
He reportedly told allies that Biden needed to “seriously consider the viability of his candidacy.”
Obama said Biden had done a great job for the country and as president but wanted to protect his accomplishments, the outlet reported.
However, Obama echoed Democrats’ concerns about what would happen if Republicans took full control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Biden’s Covid-19 diagnosis on July 17 was the final nail in the coffin of his hopes for reelection.
The Biden team canceled a rally in Las Vegas following his positive Covid result and halted future campaign stops as the president was forced to self-isolate.
REPUBLICANS STAND UNITED
As the Democratic Party scrambles to find a replacement on the blue ticket just four months before the November election, GOP leaders stood united during the Republican National Convention.
Over 2,000 Republican delegates from across the nation descended to Milwaukee to formally recognize Donald Trump as the party’s presidential nominee.
The grand Republican conference took place two days after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Trump’s right ear was grazed by a bullet from an AR-15 rifle minutes into the start of his rally.
The would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to scale and bear crawl on the rooftop of a glass company building about 150 yards from the rally podium undetected.
Crooks, who was from Bethel Park about an hour south of Butler, fired eight shots at the former president, killing rally-goer Corey Comperatore and injuring two others.
A clear motive behind Crooks’ shooting has not been determined.
To add to the confusion and uncertainty, reports emerged that Crooks was a registered Republican and former Trump supporter.
Neighbors told local ABC affiliate WTAE-TV that the Crooks’ are known to be very conservative and had Trump signs in their yards until just a few months ago.
But despite the attempt on his life, a grateful and defiant Trump boldly continued his campaign trail, attending the four-day RNC with a bandage on his right ear.
Republican leaders praised Trump while ripping the Biden administration.
Trump’s most prominent primary challengers, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, aligned with the Republican presidential candidate’s policies while seemingly rescinding their previous statements about him.
Trump delivered a passionate speech during the final night of the RNC, telling constituents he was a “quarter of an inch from death” and saying he was “not supposed to be here.”
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DEMOCRATS DIVIDED
As Trump and his vice president nominee, JD Vance, stand shoulder-to-shoulder, forming a united force among Republicans, the division between Biden and Democrats expanded.
Democrats continued to call on Biden to withdraw from the race for the country’s sake and the party’s future.
Biden failed to reassure allies and voters that he could recover after his concerning performance in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27.
After his poor performance, Biden contacted several Democratic elected officials and met with governors, his family, and advisers about his plans in the days following the debate, according to The New York Times.
Biden then went on a media frenzy, trying to reassure the American public and constituents he was mentally fit to hold office for another four years.
The president appeared in multiple interviews, but many Democratic lawmakers felt his media tour only made him look worse, according to CNN.
However, instead of changing the sentiment surrounding his campaign, Biden’s persistent gaffs were too glaring to overlook.
During an interview with a Philadelphia radio station, Biden referred to himself as “the First Black woman to work with a Black president.”
In his first televised interview after the debate with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Biden insisted the presidential debate was just a bad night for him, saying he didn’t feel well and was fatigued.
Biden’s health has been a hot topic throughout his presidency, including leading up to the debate.
Many voters feared whether Biden could manage another four years in office.
On multiple occasions, Biden said he believed he was “the best man for the job” despite his low approval ratings, sitting at just 36 percent.
Several independent polls, even before June’s debate, also indicated that as many as 95 percent of Biden’s voter base was planning to vote for the president not because they supported him but rather to stop Trump from regaining office.
And with the polls as close as they were, split at 42-40 with Trump having the slight lead, Democrats were quickly losing confidence in Biden’s ability to beat Trump come November in such a crucial election.
Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett was the first Democratic official to publicly call for Biden to step aside but was far from the last.
“I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not,” Doggett said in a statement days after the debate.
“Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”
The loss of support among Democrats continued with Illinois Representative Mike Quigley telling Bloomberg, “I reject the notion this was a bad night and everything’s okay.
“This was a bad night, and it’s a serious situation that has to be dealt with.”
Now that Biden has finally conceded and stepped aside, it is up to the Democratic party to replace Biden with a candidate in the coming weeks.
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