President Joe Biden has dropped out of the running for the Democratic presidential nominee, according to a Sunday afternoon post on his Instagram.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote. “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.”
Biden promised to share more details about his decision in an address to the nation later this week.
In a second post to his X account, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for his replacement. Recent polls project Harris overtaking Biden in a potential match-up with prospective Republican nominee Donald Trump — Harris is within the margin of error at 45% to Trump’s 47%, compared to Biden who is polling at 43% to Trump’s 49%. The boost reportedly comes from Harris’s slightly stronger pull among women and independent voters.
Harris announced her intention to run for president in a statement later Sunday afternoon, thanking Biden for his "extraordinary leadership" and endorsement of her candidacy.
"My intention is to earn and win this nomination," she wrote. "… 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."
The announcement comes just over three weeks after Biden’s underwhelming performance in the June 27 presidential debate — the first of the 2024 election cycle — sparked intense concern among voters about the president’s age and spooked Democrats into searching for alternatives.
The Biden campaign attempted to regain lost footing through a number of public events in the following days, beginning with an energetic performance from the president and First Lady Jill Biden at a June 28 rally in Raleigh.
Biden also sat for a number of television interviews following the debate, first July 5 with ABC’s George Stephanopolous and later July 15 with NBC’s Lester Holt. Some saw the move as an indication of the campaign’s desperation, as Biden has historically held the media at a greater distance than his predecessors — he gave only 23 interviews in his first 16 months in office, significantly fewer than any other president going back to Ronald Reagan.
But the Democratic candidate came up short in his attempts to persuade voters that he is up to the task of another four years in office, fumbling through answers and failing to present the picture of sharp mental acuity many were hoping for.
Biden has also faced a surge of skepticism over his capabilities from politicians within his own party.
In the week after the debate, several Democrats in the House of Representatives formally called for Biden to drop out of the race, beginning with Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas. Many others agreed privately but hesitated to make an official statement.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., became the first senator to call on Biden to give up the nomination July 10. The move marked a notable shift in political tides, as Biden served as a senator himself for 36 years and has long had close ties to the chamber.
Three more senators followed suit over the course of the next week, bringing the total count of congressional calls for the president to leave the race up to 38 — over 10% of the combined Democratic caucuses.
Several other prominent figures in the party have voiced concerns over the viability of Biden’s candidacy, ranging from political leaders like former President Barack Obama to actor and longtime Democrat George Clooney. Several key donors have also expressed doubts about the campaign, withholding around $90 million in funds if Biden remains on the Democratic ticket.
But despite this turbulence, Biden long seemed to remain committed to continuing his campaign. He asserted so in a feisty July 8 letter to congressional Democrats condemning “any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity” that could undermine his effort to defeat his Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now,” Biden wrote. “And it’s time for it to end.”
Biden consistently relied on two arguments for staying in the race: that he is the “best person” to defeat Trump and that millions of Americans voted for him in the primary election. But many Americans grew wary of these defenses when Biden presented internal and seemingly misleading polling information as support for his claims and reports surfaced that his circle of advisers had shrunk significantly to only a few loyalists.
When asked what could persuade him to give up his candidacy, Biden’s requirements shifted over the past few weeks.
In the Stephanopoulos interview, he famously quipped that he would only leave the race “if the Lord Almighty [came] down” and demanded it. But at a press conference the next week, he committed to stay in the race unless polling data reported “there’s no way [he] can win.”
Biden was forced off the campaign trail earlier this week due to a case of COVID-19, after which he self-isolated for several days in Delaware. But although his campaign team previously maintained the president would return to duties this week, the Sunday afternoon announcement marks an end to his bid.
Democrats have until August to officially select Biden’s replacement. Party leaders were originally scheduled to take a virtual roll call vote Aug. 5 — two weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago — as a technicality to meet Ohio’s early candidate certification deadline. However, the state’s deadline has since been pushed back, meaning a formal selection could come as late as Aug. 22.
Recent reports indicate the Democratic National Convention’s Rules Committee plans to move forward with a virtual roll call vote in the first week of August — not wait for the in-person convention, which begins Aug. 19. The committee will finalize their decision in a July 26 vote on the current proposal, which schedules virtual voting between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7.
Although many are looking to Harris to take up the gauntlet in Biden’s absence, there are a number of other prominent figures in the Democratic Party who remain viable contenders.
Governors Gavin Newsom of California, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania have emerged as possible alternatives for the nomination. From the congressional side, Senators Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota could also see support.
The party could also look within the current administration for a replacement, in which case Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stands out as a potential contender.
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. It was updated Sunday afternoon with Biden's endorsement of Harris and later with a statement from Harris.
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Zoe Kolenovsky is a Trinity junior and news editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.