Biden withdraws from presidential race over age-related concerns

U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday issued a statement saying he was no longer running for reelection in 2024. He said he would serve out the rest of his current term as president. He issued a separate statement moments later saying he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in the 2024 election. Harris later said in a statement she was grateful for Biden’s endorsement and that she intended to pursue the Democratic Party’s nomination.

In recent weeks, Biden, age 81,  misnamed world leaders and public figures during speeches, performed poorly while debating former President Donald Trump, and struggled to climb and descend the stairs on Air Force One. Several Democratic lawmakers called for Biden to resign ahead of his announcement. Just days before his Sunday withdrawal, Biden said he contracted COVID-19.

What does this mean for the 2024 election? The Democratic National Committee must officially decide whether it will nominate Harris to be Biden’s replacement. The Democratic Party had not yet named Biden as its nominee for the 2024 presidential election but was scheduled to do so in early August. The conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation promised earlier this year to legally challenge Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party if the president withdrew from the race.

What does former President Donald Trump have to say about this? Trump issued a social media statement on Sunday saying Biden was not fit to serve as president and that he never had been. Biden’s staff, his doctors, and the reporters covering his time in office knew all along that he wasn’t fit to lead the country, Trump said. He added that the United States would suffer because of Biden’s presidency, but Trump said he and voters would remedy the damage shortly. 

Later, Trump’s campaign issued another statement saying Harris would make an even worse candidate than Biden. Trump’s campaign also insisted that Biden couldn’t withdraw from his reelection campaign for age-related reasons and then still continue serving in the Oval Office. Biden was in cognitive decline and as such posed a national security threat to the United States, Trump’s statement insisted.

What are other politicians saying? Here are some of the comments that have been made since Biden’s announcement:

Former President Barack Obama: Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been reminded—again—that he’s a patriot of the highest order.

Republican Candidate for Vice President Senator J.D. Vance, R-Ohio: Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way. Over the last four years she co-signed Biden's open border and green scam policies that drove up the cost of housing and groceries. She owns all of these failures, and she lied for nearly four years about Biden's mental capacity--saddling the nation with a president who can't do the job.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he's a truly amazing human being. His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first. Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American.

House Speaker Mike Johnson: At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election. Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who selected Joe Biden to be the Democrat nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite...If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: President Joe Biden is one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history… America is a better place today because President Joe Biden has led us with intellect, grace and dignity. We are forever grateful.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise: Democrat party bosses just proved that they have absolutely no respect for their own voters. After lecturing others about democracy, they just forced Joe Biden off the ticket—trashing the primary choice of 14 million of their own voters.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: President Joe Biden is a patriotic American who has always put our country first. His legacy of vision, values and leadership make him one of the most consequential Presidents in American history.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: The Democratic Party has been busy in recent weeks trying to upend the expressed will of the American people in primary elections across the country. Washington Democrats have not proven themselves any more capable than the President of delivering the secure borders, safe streets, and stable prices that working families deserve. They are selling open borders, higher prices, climate radicalism, and soft-on-crime policies, and the American people are not buying.

Rep Robert Garcia, D-Calif.: President Joe Biden has dedicated his life to our country and is an American hero. As the most accomplished president of our lifetime, he led us out of a global pandemic, revitalized our economy, and restored the soul of our nation. I could not be more proud him.

Rep. William Timmons, R-S.C.: Joe Biden must resign. If he cannot run for re-election today, he should not be our President tomorrow.

Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif.: President Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in American history. I’m proud to have worked so closely with his Administration on so many of these historic achievements. Democrats will work to ensure his legacy is secure and will support [President Joe Biden] and [Vice President] Kamala Harris as the party moves forward, unified, in our efforts to put the American people over politics.

Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J.: I am grateful that we have a president whose patriotism and love of country drove him to run and win against demagoguery in 2020, and who now, because of that same fierce love and devotion to his fellow Americans, has decided to be the bridge to a new generation of leaders.

Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: I commend President Biden for stepping down. His infirmities were evident to any unbiased observer from the beginning. It was this progressive deterioration — and his abandonment of Democratic Party principles — that prompted me to enter the race and ensure American voters had a viable, vigorous alternative to Donald Trump.

Libertarian Party Presidential Nominee Chase Oliver: I look forward to competing against whoever replaces President Biden as the Democrat nominee. They may be younger than Biden, but their policies will still be taking America in the wrong direction of more deficits, more instability, and more state control over our lives.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about why and how Democrats managed to let Biden’s dysfunction slide for so long. Also:

• Read Stephen Kloosterman's story about Democrats mulling President Joe Biden’s replacement in the 2024 presidential campaign.
• Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s opinion column about the questions that loom large as President Biden leaves the presidential race.