WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he is ending his campaign for re-election, putting the Democrats in scramble mode to find a new nominee just months before Election Day.
In a letter posted to social media, the President announced he is stepping aside as the nominee to focus on fulfilling his term.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote, in part. “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,” he added.
The stunning announcement comes after pressure from members of his own party to step aside following last months’ debate performance against Donald Trump that led to Democrats calling on Biden to step aside amid questions about his age, ability to carry out his campaign and whether he could serve a second term.
Vice President Kamala Harris would seem to be the heir apparent. She broke a barrier as the first female vice president. As a woman of color, she has strong support among African-Americans, a key piece of the Democratic coalition.
Biden’s campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, insisted on Friday that the President is staying in the race as calls for him to end his campaign continue to grew with each passing day.
“The president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and time again,” O’Malley Dillon said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”. “We believe, on this campaign, we are built for the close election that we’re in. And we see the path forward.”
Sources told Fwrd Axis News that Biden was likely to announce he was stepping aside over the weekend, amid pressure from key members of his own party.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi all spoke to Biden recently, informing him the polling and new numbers show that he does not have a path to 270 electoral votes needed to defeat Donald Trump in November.
While Biden was at home in Delaware with Covid, he was feeling hurt and betrayed by top Democratic allies who were calling for him to exit the race.
Former President Barack Obama has been mostly silent but a report from the Washington Post says Obama was privately concerned about Biden’s chances in November, reportedly saying the President should “seriously consider the viability of his candidacy”.
Biden’s exit from the race less than a month before his party’s convention and months before voters head to the polls is unprecedented in the modern political era. At 81, Biden’s decades long political career will end with him boarding Air Force One for the last time in January 2025 to retire in Delaware.
