President Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race after disastrous debate inflamed age concerns

Colleen Long, Zeke Miller and Darlene Superville, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden dropped retired of nan 2024 title for nan White House connected Sunday, ending his bid for reelection pursuing a disastrous statement pinch Donald Trump that raised doubts astir his fittingness for agency conscionable 4 months earlier nan election.

The determination comes aft escalating unit from Biden’s Democratic friends to measurement speech pursuing nan June 27 debate, successful which nan 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and grounded to telephone retired nan erstwhile president’s galore falsehoods.

Biden plans to service retired nan remainder of his word successful office, which ends astatine noon connected Jan. 20, 2025.

“It has been nan top grant of my life to service arsenic your President. And while it has been my volition to activity reelection, I judge it is successful nan champion liking of my statement and nan state for maine to guidelines down and to attraction solely connected fulfilling my duties arsenic President for nan remainder of my term,” Biden wrote successful a missive posted to his X account.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Biden, who remains astatine his Delaware formation location aft being diagnosed pinch COVID-19 past week, said he would reside nan federation later this week to supply “detail” astir his decision.

The White House confirmed nan authenticity of nan letter.

He did not instantly propulsion his support down Vice President Kamala Harris, nan party’s instant favourite for nan information astatine its August normal successful Chicago.

The announcement is nan latest jolt to a run for nan White House that some governmental parties spot arsenic nan astir consequential predetermination successful generations, coming conscionable days aft nan attempted assassination of Trump astatine a Pennsylvania rally.

A party’s presumptive statesmanlike nominee has ne'er stepped retired of nan title truthful adjacent to nan election. The closest parallel would beryllium President Lyndon Johnson who, besieged by nan Vietnam War, announced successful March 1968 that he would not activity different term.

Now, Democrats person to urgently effort to bring coherence to nan nominating process successful a matter of weeks and seduce voters successful a stunningly short magnitude of clip that their nominee tin grip nan occupation and hit Trump. And for his part, Trump must displacement his attraction to a caller force aft years of training his attraction connected Biden.

The determination marks a swift and stunning extremity to Biden’s 52 years successful electoral politics, arsenic donors, lawmakers and moreover aides expressed to him their doubts that he could person voters that he could plausibly grip nan occupation for different 4 years.

Biden won nan immense mostly of delegates and each nominating title but one, which would person made his information a formality. Now that he has dropped out, those delegates will beryllium free to support different candidate.

Harris, 59, appeared to beryllium nan earthy successor, successful ample portion because she is nan only campaigner who tin straight pat into nan Biden campaign’s warfare chest, according to national run finance rules.

Biden’s determination to not explicitly endorse Harris appears to group nan shape for nan party’s messiness to proceed up to nan convention.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to beryllium held Aug. 19-22 successful Chicago, but nan statement had announced that it would clasp a virtual rotation telephone to formally nominate Biden earlier in-person proceedings begin.

The day for nan rotation telephone hasn’t been set, and it’s improbable that will hap since nan section is abruptly wide open. Harris would apt person title from others looking to switch Biden. But that could create a script successful which she and others extremity up lobbying individual authorities delegations astatine nan normal for their support.

In 2020, Biden sounded himself arsenic a transitional fig who wanted to beryllium a span to a caller procreation of leaders. But erstwhile he secured nan occupation he spent decades struggling to attain, he was reluctant to portion pinch it.

Biden was erstwhile asked whether immoderate different Democrats could hit Trump.

“Probably 50 of them,” Biden replied. “No, I’m not nan only 1 who tin conclusion him, but I will conclusion him.”

Biden is already nan country’s oldest president and had insisted many times that he was up for nan situation of different run and different term, telling voters each they had to was “watch me.”

And watch him they did. His mediocre statement capacity prompted a cascade of worry from Democrats and donors who said publically what immoderate had said privately for months, that they did not deliberation he was up to nan occupation for 4 much years.

Concerns complete Biden’s property person dogged him since he announced he was moving for reelection, though Trump is conscionable 3 years younger astatine 78. Most Americans position nan president arsenic excessively aged for a 2nd term, according to an August 2023 canvass from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A mostly besides uncertainty his intelligence capacity to beryllium president, though that is besides a weakness for Trump.

Biden often remarked that he was not arsenic young arsenic he utilized to be, doesn’t locomotion arsenic easy aliases speak arsenic smoothly, but that he had contented and decades of experience, which were worthy a full lot.

“I springiness you my connection arsenic a Biden. I would not beryllium moving again if I didn’t judge pinch each my bosom and psyche I tin do this job,” he told supporters astatine a rally successful North Carolina a time aft nan debate. “Because, rather frankly, nan stakes are excessively high.”

But voters had different problems pinch him, excessively — he has been profoundly unpopular arsenic a leader moreover arsenic his management steered nan federation done betterment from a world pandemic, presided complete a booming system and passed awesome pieces of bipartisan authorities that will effect nan federation for years to come. A mostly of Americans disapprove of nan measurement he’s handling his job, and he’s faced persistently debased support ratings connected cardinal issues including nan system and immigration.

Biden’s property surfaced arsenic a awesome facet during an investigation of his handling of classified documents. Special counsel Robert Hur said successful February that nan president came crossed successful interviews pinch investigators arsenic “a sympathetic, well-meaning, aged man pinch a mediocre memory.”

The president’s friends seized connected nan connection arsenic gratuitous and criticized Hur for including it successful his report, and Biden himself angrily pushed backmost connected descriptions of really he said astir his precocious son.

Biden’s information for moving was profoundly intertwined pinch Trump. He had retired from nationalist work pursuing 8 years serving arsenic vice president nether Barack Obama and nan decease of his boy Beau but decided to tally aft Trump’s comments pursuing a “Unite nan Right” rally successful Charlottesville, Virginia, successful 2017, erstwhile achromatic supremacists descended connected nan metropolis to protestation nan removal of its Confederate memorials.

Trump said: “You had immoderate very bad group successful nan group, but you besides had group that were very good group connected some sides. On some sides.”

That a sitting president didn’t unequivocally condemn racism and achromatic supremacy profoundly offended Biden. Then, Biden won nan 2020 predetermination and Trump refused to concede and stood by for hours while his supporters stormed nan U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, beating and bloodying rule enforcement successful a grounded effort to overturn nan certification of Biden’s win.

“If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not judge I’d beryllium running,” Biden erstwhile said during astatine a run event.

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Follow nan AP’s sum of nan 2024 predetermination astatine https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.