Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 United States presidential election
On July 21, 2024, Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, announced his withdrawal from the 2024 United States presidential election.
Biden, a Democrat who had been elected president in 2020, stated on April 25, 2023 that he would run for re-election in 2024 with incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. Biden went on to win an overwhelming majority of delegates in the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries, where he easily defeated challengers such as Representative Dean Phillips and became the party's presumptive nominee.
Concerns about Biden's age and health had emerged during his presidency. These concerns increased following the June 2024 presidential debate between Biden and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump. Biden's debate performance was widely criticized; he lost his train of thought, had a faltering appearance, spoke with a hoarse voice, and failed to recall statistics or coherently express his opinion on several occasions. While he insisted that he would continue his campaign, Biden subsequently faced calls from fellow Democrats and from the editorial boards of major news outlets to withdraw from the race. By July 19, 2024, more than 30 senior Democrats had called for his withdrawal.
Biden ultimately ended his re-election campaign on July 21, 2024, before being officially re-nominated at the Democratic National Convention, becoming the first incumbent president to end a re-election campaign before Election Day since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. After adding that he would continue serving as president for the remainder of his term, Biden immediately endorsed Harris to replace him in his place as the party's presidential nominee. Harris officially become the party's presidential nominee and went on to lose the 2024 election to Trump.
Background
Presidents of the United States who did not seek reelection for a second full term at their party's nominating convention
Historically, most sitting U.S. presidents who completed one full term chose to run for a second. Seven presidents were eligible for reelection after completing at least one full term in office, but chose not to run before their party's nominating convention.Incumbent presidents of the United States who were denied their party's nomination at the convention while running for a second term
Historically, the only elected U.S. president to be denied their party's nomination at the national convention while they were running for re-election to a second term was Franklin Pierce, a Democrat, who was in office from 1853 through 1857. Additionally, four other incumbent U.S. presidents, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, and Chester A. Arthur, were denied their party's nomination at the national convention when they ran for a second term; however, none of these presidents were elected for their first term, and all had assumed the presidency after the death of the previous incumbent.Biden's age and health concerns
Biden was 78 years old at his inauguration, making him the oldest individual to assume the presidency. Biden was also older when he assumed the office than Ronald Reagan, the previous oldest, had been when leaving it. Health concerns surrounding Biden emerged during his presidency, primarily about his age and ability to carry out a second term. In a report in the Journal on Active Aging, doctors noted he had an "exceptional health profile" relative to his age, and a medical assessment performed by physician Kevin O'Connor attested to his physical acuity. Biden's aides dismissed age-related concerns as politically motivated attacks by Republicans.On July 28, 2022, U.S. Representative Dean Phillips became the first incumbent Democratic member of Congress to say President Biden should not run for re-election; Phillips called for "generational change," pointing to Biden's age. Phillips argued during his presidential campaign that President Biden would be a weak general election candidate due to his age and low approval ratings. In public, Phillips was ridiculed. In private, others in the Democratic Party shared his concerns.
In February 2024, upon concluding the investigation into Biden's handling of classified documents, special counsel Robert Hur suggested that Biden would be able to present himself to a jury as an "elderly man with poor memory". Based on his interview of Biden, Hur wrote that Biden's memory "appeared to have significant limitations". According to a February 2024 poll, Biden's age and health were major or moderate concerns for 86% of voters generally, up from 76% earlier in 2020. According to another 2024 poll, most of those who voted for Biden in 2020 said that they believed he was too old to be an effective president; The New York Times noted that these concerns "cut across generations, gender, race and education".
Biden 2024 campaign
On April 25, 2023, after months of speculation, Biden confirmed that he would run for reelection to the presidency in the 2024 presidential election with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate.Biden faced opposition from Representative Dean Phillips during the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Phillips campaigned as a younger alternative to Biden, who would be a stronger opponent for Trump. On March 6, 2024, Phillips suspended his campaign and endorsed Biden.
Debate with Trump
Biden and Trump faced each other in a televised debate on June 27, 2024. Described as a "disaster" for Biden, the debate reinforced concerns about Biden's age. Biden appeared confused and disoriented during the debate's first half and gave meandering answers to questions.He failed to recall statistics or coherently express his opinion on several occasions.
Politico described Biden's performance as follows:
The alarm bells for Democrats started ringing the second Biden started speaking in a haltingly hoarse voice. Minutes into the debate, he struggled to mount an effective defense of the economy on his watch and flubbed the description of key health initiatives he’s made central to his reelection bid... He repeatedly mixed up “billion” and “million,” and found himself stuck for long stretches of the 90-minute debate playing defense.
And when he wasn’t speaking, he stood frozen behind his podium, mouth agape, his eyes wide and unblinking for long stretches of time.
Debate aftermath
The debate sent many Democrats "into a panic". The resulting political turmoil within the Democratic Party was referred to as the "Biden crisis". Politico's article on the debate was entitled, "Dems freak out over Biden’s debate performance: 'Biden is toast'". Prior to Biden's withdrawal, the word Joever, a portmanteau of Joe and over, was used by critics and media to describe the state of Biden's campaign. Though the word was first coined in a meme on 4chan's /pol/ imageboard in 2020, the word's usage in social media posts and major media stories increased significantly following the debate.Following the debate, Biden faced calls from fellow Democrats and from the editorial boards of major news outlets to withdraw from the race. On July 2, Representative Lloyd Doggett became the first sitting Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to drop out after the debate. He said, “Unlike Trump, Biden really does want to put the country first. He can put the country first by putting himself aside.” However, former President Bill Clinton, former President Barack Obama,
Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly defended Biden and supported his continued candidacy.
On July 3, twenty Democratic governors met with Biden at the White House and virtually to discuss the debate's effect on his campaign. Following the meeting, Governors Wes Moore of Maryland, Kathy Hochul of New York, and Tim Walz of Minnesota spoke to the press outside of the White House, with Walz specifically admitting that "Thursday night was a bad performance" and a "bad hit".
Biden stated in an ABC News interview with George Stephanopoulos on July 5 that he would not end his candidacy unless "the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'Joe, get out of the race'". He added, "The Lord Almighty's not coming down." According to Politico, "Members of Congress and top Democratic operatives" said that "the president was more energetic and forceful than he was on stage during last week's showdown with Donald Trump — but it likely won't be enough to tame the panic" concerning his campaign.
On July 8, 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden's team had limited his schedule, personal interactions, media appearances, interviews, and unscripted exchanges in order to minimize concerns about his age and mental acuity. According to Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal report stated that Biden "was having 'good and bad days' as far back as 2021".
The Biden campaign attempted to reduce the intensity of the pressure on Biden to withdraw from the race until he could be formally nominated in a virtual roll call vote prior to the Democratic National Convention. In a sports analogy, this effort was described as "running out the clock".
At the July 2024 NATO summit, Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "'President Putin'". He then corrected himself. Later at the same event, Biden confused his running mate with his opponent. When asked a question regarding Vice President Kamala Harris, he responded, "'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president think she was not qualified to be president'".
On July 17, ABC News reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had met with Biden on July 12 and 13, respectively, and had expressed concerns to Biden about potential Democratic losses in Congress that could result from the continuation of his campaign. Biden reportedly told Schumer that he needed another week to make a decision.
Later on July 17, Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He experienced mild symptoms, including a cough, runny nose, and "general malaise". However, images of him looking frail exiting from Air Force One on the way to isolation at his residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, fueled further speculation over his health. The New York Times reported that Biden was "more receptive" to withdrawing his nomination. In phone conversations, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi told Biden she was pessimistic about his candidacy.
By July 19, 2024, more than 30 congressional Democrats had publicly called on Biden to end his presidential campaign. Many more had communicated the same message privately.
CNN reported that on July 20, Biden met with advisors Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon. During that meeting, the group concluded that worsening poll numbers and a loss of party support had left the campaign without a plausible path to victory. That evening, Biden began planning a possible exit from the race with Ricchetti, Donilon, and other close aides, and he fully committed to the decision on the morning of July 21.