New Delhi: An isolated Joe Biden exited the stage Sunday afternoon after over five decades of public service, upending the US presidential race and leaving the Democratic Party to face a chaotic three-and-half months till the November elections.
“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,” said Biden in a statement first posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Three weeks after a disastrous performance in the first debate against Republican rival Donald Trump, Biden, who had repeatedly vowed to stay in the race, finally conceded that remaining on the ballot would negatively affect the chances of the Democratic Party in the 2024 elections.
His performance led the Republican Party and Trump to attack his cognitive ability. Every mis-statement, fumble and lost thought was closely monitored by the public and became political fodder shared widely by the grand old party (GOP). Right after the debate, the GOP released a video of the President’s fumbles during the debate which was widely shared across social media platforms.
During a press conference on 11 July after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit, Biden referred to his vice president, Kamala Harris, as “Vice President Trump”. Earlier in the day, during a press statement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden confused him with the Russian leader, calling him “President (Vladimir) Putin.” The gaffes drew further attacks from the Republican Party and his own allies.
Biden’s announcement Sunday came at the end of an already hectic week in American politics, which began with the assassination attempt against Trump in Pennsylvania and included a successful end to the Republican national convention which spotlighted the party’s unity. In comparison, Biden, who already had a storm of questions surrounding his health, was isolating in his beach house in Delaware since Wednesday after testing positive for COVID-19.
The diagnosis cost his campaign a crucial few days to counter Trump even as the call for Biden to withdraw grew louder, with nearly three dozen Democratic Party leaders urging him to quit the race by Saturday.
Still, there were no signs that the President was considering bowing out, and senior campaign staff shared that message. On Sunday morning, hours before his withdrawal from the race, party chairs in seven battleground states — Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada — reiterated their support for the President.
However, according to media reports, Biden had made the decision to exit the race by Saturday night. There were three key issues that impacted Biden’s campaign in the last three weeks: the loss of support among Democratic rank and file, growing doubt among donors and low polling numbers.
The debate
The Biden campaign had argued for an early debate against Trump in the hope of setting the stage for a November victory. However, instead of highlighting Biden’s ability to continue in office for four more years, the debate, hosted by CNN on 27 June, started the countdown for what became the final 23 days of his campaign.
Over 50 million people watched the President’s halting and meandering performance. While his campaign attempted to make a number of excuses — a cold, his hectic travel schedule, and even a lack of sleep — the damage was done.
A Gallup poll, released ahead of the debate, showed that 59 percent of Americans were very concerned about Biden’s age. At 81, Biden is already the oldest American President. In contrast, 38 percent of poll respondents were concerned about Trump’s age; at 78, he is only three years younger than Biden. That same poll showed only a 37 percent favourability rating for Biden — his lowest since 2007.
While former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton rallied around the incumbent after the debate, his performance only solidified the position of his detractors.
Reports of a Parkinson’s specialist visiting the White House at least eight times between July 2023 and March 2024 only added to the controversy, forcing the President’s personal doctor to publicly clarify that the specialist was not there for Biden but for other White House staff members.
Despite Biden’s energetic response a day after the debate performance at a rally in North Carolina, where he conceded that he could not debate like he used to, the focus remained on his mental fitness.
One of the biggest donors to the party, actor George Clooney, called on Biden to step aside in an opinion piece published by The New York Times on 10 July. The NYT editorial board also called for him to leave the race.
According to media reports, a large number of donors also withheld their donations as long as Biden remained on the ticket.
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Democratic leadership quietly revolts
According to media reports, the Democratic leadership — Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — quietly shared their opinions on the race with the incumbent President.
The day that Clooney’s opinion piece was published in the NYT, Pelosi did not endorse the President on MSNBC, instead saying that it was up to Biden to decide on his political future, despite the President reiterating his intention of staying in the race. Sources told the media that Pelosi and Obama had privately expressed their reservations about Biden’s continued presidential run.
Adam Schiff, the Democratic Congressman from California and the lawmaker who led the impeachment trial against Trump, opened the internal party floodgates against Biden last week. His call was seen by Biden as another sign of Pelosi’s backroom manoeuvring to ensure his withdrawal, according to media reports.
A CNN report last Wednesday said Pelosi had privately told Biden that the polls indicated no pathway for his eventual victory in November. The same day, another media organisation reported that Schumer had also told the President this and urged him to withdraw from the race. Jeffries, in a similar vein, is reported to have raised concerns about the future of Biden’s campaign privately with the President, according to reports.
On Saturday morning, Biden reportedly called his surrogates who were campaigning on his behalf to thank them for their support, but also to share his anger at the loss of support amongst the Democratic leadership.
In the weeks leading up to his withdrawal from the race, Biden railed against the “elites” of the party trying to push him out versus the party voters who had selected him as their nominee. By Saturday night, however, it seemed that the President realised that his race was coming to an end and chose to exit the race, an isolated figure.
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)