Joe Biden reportedly delayed his decision to drop out of the 2024 re-election campaign [1] due to concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’s ability to face off against former President Donald Trump.
pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw [2]
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024 [3]
According to Axios [4], sources familiar with the conversations revealed that the 81-year-old president and his senior advisers questioned whether Harris was up to the challenge.
Nevertheless, Biden eventually endorsed Harris after his tumultuous debate performance against Trump threw his campaign into disarray.
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… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV [5]
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024 [6]
Before making the surprising announcement, Biden and Harris had multiple phone conversations.
Following Biden’s endorsement, Harris made frantic calls to over 100 Democratic party leaders, politicians, and donors in an effort to rally support.
Notably, she reached out [7] to former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, though Obama refrained from offering a direct endorsement, expressing his confidence in the party’s ability to select an exceptional nominee.
Following Biden’s announcement, Harris expressed her gratitude for his vote of confidence and her determination to earn the Democratic nomination.
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.
I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) July 21, 2024 [8]
The Democratic National Committee is expected to conduct a virtual vote on the presidential nomination in early August to meet an Ohio ballot access deadline on August 7.