Withdrawal of Joe Biden from the 2024 United States presidential election



On July 21, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 United States presidential election via a statement on social media. Biden later endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's candidate in the election. Health concerns surrounding Biden, primarily about his age and ability to carry out a successful second term, had elicited concerns within the Democratic Party regarding the election and a second term. Concerns about Biden's age mounted in June 2024, following a debate in which Biden had a faltering appearance, spoke with a hoarse voice, and failed to recall statistics or coherently express his opinion on several occasions. After what many deemed was a poor performance, Biden received numerous calls to withdraw from the election. By July 19, the number of senior Democrats calling for him to withdraw had surpassed 30.

Following months of speculation, on April 25, 2023, Biden announced he would run for reelection as president in the 2024 election, with Harris again as his running mate. The campaign launched four years to the day after the start of his 2020 presidential campaign. On the day of his announcement, a Gallup poll found that Biden's approval rating was 37 percent, with most of those surveyed saying the economy was their biggest concern. During his campaign, Biden promoted an economic policy known as Bidenomics following the COVID-19 pandemic. He frequently stated his intention to "finish the job" as a political rallying cry.

The first presidential debate was held on June 27, 2024, between Biden and Donald Trump. Biden's performance was widely criticized, with commentators saying he frequently lost his train of thought and gave meandering answers. Several newspaper columnists declared Trump the winner,  and polling indicated the majority of the public believed Trump won. After the debate raised questions about his health, Biden faced calls to withdraw from the race, including from fellow Democrats and the editorial boards of several major news outlets. Biden initially insisted that he would remain a candidate, but on July 21, a signed letter was posted to his X account withdrawing his candidacy, writing that this was "in the best interest of my party and the country". A subsequent post endorsed Harris as his successor. Biden is the first incumbent president eligible for reelection not to seek reelection to the presidency since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and the first president in American history to choose not to seek reelection after already winning the primaries.

Biden's candidacy
On April 25, 2023, after months of speculation, President Joe Biden confirmed he would run for reelection as president in the 2024 United States presidential election, with Vice President Kamala Harris again as his running mate. The campaign launched four years to the day after the start of his 2020 presidential campaign. On the day of his announcement, a Gallup poll found that Biden's approval rating was 37 percent, with most of those surveyed saying the economy was their biggest concern. During his campaign, Biden promoted higher economic growth and recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. He frequently stated his intention to "finish the job" as a political rallying cry.

Biden made protecting American democracy a central focus of his campaign, along with restoring the federal right to abortion following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. He also intended to increase funding for border patrol and security, and increase funding for law enforcement coupled with police reform. Biden promised to support, protect and expand LGBT rights and frequently touted his previous passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Chips and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act's landmark investment to combat climate change.

Biden made strengthening U.S. alliances a key goal of his foreign policy and promised to continue supporting Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the country and Israel following their war with Hamas, describing them as "vital" to U.S. national security interests. Biden promised to continue efforts to tackle gun violence and defend the Affordable Care Act following comments from Donald Trump suggesting he would repeal the law. Biden proposed increasing taxes on the wealthy through a "billionaire minimum income tax" to reduce the deficit and fund social services for the poor.

Biden's trade policy was described as rejecting traditional neoliberal economic policy and the Washington Consensus that resulted in the offshoring of manufacturing and thus resulted in increased populist backlash. Biden proposed and enacted targeted tariffs against strategic Chinese industries to protect manufacturing jobs and counter China's technological and military ambitions. Biden was not on the ballot in the January 23, New Hampshire primary, but he won it in a write-in campaign with 63.8% of the vote. He had wanted South Carolina to be the first primary, and won that state on February 3 with 96.2% of the vote. Biden received 89.3% of the vote in Nevada and 81.1% of the vote in Michigan, with "none of these candidates" and "uncommitted" coming in second in each state, respectively. On March 5 ("Super Tuesday"), he won 15 of 16 primaries, netting 80% or more of the vote in 13 of them. On March 12, he reached more than the 1,968 delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination, becoming the presumptive nominee.

Biden's age and health
At his inauguration, Biden took the oath of office at 78 years old, making him the oldest individual to assume the presidency. Biden was older when he assumed office than any other president had been when leaving office. 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. The Washington Post's Dan Zak described the U.S. government as a gerontocracy with Biden's inauguration.

In July 2024, The New York Times reported that Kevin Cannard, a neurologist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center specializing in movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, visited the White House eight times within the last eight months, including a meeting with Biden's physician. The report generated controversy as O'Connor refuted the report, citing Cannard's appearances during Barack Obama's administration and personnel within the White House who suffer from neurological disorders.

Debate with Trump


Biden was widely criticized after a televised debate against Trump on June 27, 2024, with many Democrats in particular criticizing the performance, in which Biden had a faltering appearance and spoke with a hoarse voice. Following Biden's performance at the debate, many Democrats called for him to withdraw from the race, leading to a political crisis within the party that media referred to as the "Biden crisis".

Progression
On July 17, ABC News reported that House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer expressed concerns to Biden about Democratic losses in Congress. Jeffrey Katzenberg, a campaign co-chairman, informed Biden that donors had halted funding his campaign.

That day, 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 fuelled further speculation on Biden's 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. On July 18, Axios reported that Democrats believed Biden would exit the election, citing pressure from Jeffries and Schumer, internal polling, and criticism. The New York Times reported that day that Biden had begun to accept a potential withdrawal.

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. The term originated from a 2020 4chan post mocking Biden's perceived inability to win the 2020 election, and quickly became a popular Internet meme, particularly on Twitter. The Joever meme received widespread prominence in 2024 as concerns about his fitness and health grew.

Strategy
The Biden campaign employed a strategy to reduce the tenacity of comments seeking Biden's withdrawal until he was formally nominated in a presumed virtual roll call vote prior to the Democratic National Convention.

Policy
In response to criticisms following the debate, Biden announced several progressive policies, including Supreme Court reform to impose term limits and a binding code of ethics, a constitutional amendment to institute prosecutorial authority for presidential actions, a national assault weapons ban, and limiting rent increases.

Withdrawal


On July 21, the official X account of President Joe Biden posted a letter announcing Biden's withdrawal.

"My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.

Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.

I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected and preserved our Democracy. And we've revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. 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.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.

For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America."Later the same day, a post from the same account endorsed Kamala Harris, the vice president since 2021.

"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 decision I've made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this."

Replacement as candidate


Biden's pledged delegates were released by his resignation from the race. A candidate who receives 300 signatures from delegates will appear on the convention ballot. A candidate must receive a majority of delegate votes at the convention to become the nominee; if no candidate initially receives a majority of votes, an additional seven hundred superdelegates are permitted to vote on a candidate. All of the nearly 3,800 delegates previously committed to Biden are now free to choose their path. Despite Biden's endorsement of Harris, Democratic National Committee rules do not require these delegates to follow his recommendation and support his selected successor.

Democratic Party
Former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama praised Biden's work as president, with Obama writing that "Joe Biden has been one of America's most consequential presidents" and that Biden "wouldn't make this decision unless he believed it was right for America." Many Democrats praised Biden's decision as "selfless", such as South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn, Obama advisor David Axelrod, and Ohio Congressman Greg Landsman, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer writing that Biden "once again put his country, his party, and our future first" over himself. Former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton did the same and endorsed Harris.

Trump campaign
Following the announcement of Biden's withdrawal, Trump released a statement on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming that his former opponent "was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve", calling him "the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation". [sic] Trump's re-election campaign has prepared opposition research dossiers on Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro. The campaign intended to release messaging critical of Harris at the Republican National Convention, but ultimately decided against it.

United Kingdom
Prime Minister Keir Starmer published a statement on X, saying that he respects Biden's decision to drop out, and looks forward to working with him during the remainder of his presidency. Leader of the Opposition and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also gave his remarks on X.

Philippines
President Bongbong Marcos described Biden's withdrawal as "a demonstration of genuine statesmanship" and thanked him for his "constant and unwavering support for the Philippines in a delicate and difficult time".

Israel
President Isaac Herzog thanked Biden "for his friendship and steadfast support for the Israeli people over his decades long career," in a statement on social media.

Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country respected Biden's "tough but strong decision" and was grateful for his "unwavering support".