On July 21, 2024, President Biden announced he would drop out of the 2024 Presidential election.
The president starts his letter by thanking the American people. He also highlights his Administration’s accomplishments, including lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, investments in the Nation, and expanding affordable health care.
Biden emphasized that during his time in the Oval Office, the country has overcome a pandemic, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and strengthened alliances all over the world.
“It has been the 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,” said Biden in the letter.
Commenters flooded the post to voice their opinions on his resignation.
The most-liked comment reads, “YAY!!! Thank you for dropping out.”
Others were more gracious.
“We love you President Biden, you have served our country with dignity and fairness for so many years. The cherry on top is that you were the best president we could have hoped for,” said user Tracy.morales77.
Factors That Lead To President Biden’s Decision
President Biden is eighty-one years old, and many Americans believed his advanced age was on display during the Presidential Debate on June 27, 2024 against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“In their debate, the gap between the 81-year-old incumbent and his 78-year-old challenger seemed much larger. Biden, hoarse and displaying little vocal range, was often unable to express his differences with Trump with clarity,” said CNN News.
In a Reddit discussion on the Presidential Debate, one user remarked: “I really admire Joe Biden and I think he’s done a pretty good job as President BUT last night was an absolute disaster. He is not capable of serving 4 more years in the White House,” said BartC46.
In another post on Biden’s Instagram, he endorsed Kamala Harris, his Vice President, as the Democratic Nominee for 2024.
“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.”
President Joe Biden
The post received thousands of comments thanking the president and expressing excitement for Kamala’s candidacy. Donations flooded in.
If elected, Kamala Harris will be the first female President in U.S. history.
Related: Kamala Harris Brings In Record Campaign Donations
Biden’s Health-Related Questions
On Wednesday, July 17, 2024 Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19, which only worsened his age-related optics. Biden is being treated by his Doctor, Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor.
“The president’s pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain normal,” O’Connor wrote in a July 20 letter.
The COVID diagnosis came on the tail of other health-related rumors that made their rounds in national media outlets. Earlier that week, it was reported that Dr. Kevin O’ Cannard, a Parkinson’s and neurological disease specialist, had visited the White House numerous times since the spring of 2023.
In response, Dr Kevin O’Connor penned an open letter reassuring the public that Dr. Cannard has been attending to White House staff since 2012 and that his visits were only part of routine exams for both Biden and other White House staff. Moreover, Dr. O’Connor emphasized that Biden’s annual exam had come back as expected.
“An extremely detailed neurological exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings that would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis, nor are there any signs of cervical myelopathy,” O’Conner wrote.
Biden Endorses Kamala Harris
After Kamala’s endorsement, Vice President Kamala Harris says that she is determined to “earn and win” the Democratic nomination.
“I will do everything in my power to…unite the nation and defeat Donald Trump,” Harris said.
The 2024 United States Presidential election will take place on November 5, 2024.
