WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Sunday afternoon he will drop his re-election bid for a second term in the White House.
The 46th president made his announcement on X (formerly Twitter) just before 2 p.m. with the following statement:
Biden said he will complete his term in office. He did not endorse his vice president in his initial post.
However, in a follow-up post, he did endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination for president.
The president said he will “speak to the Nation” about his decision later this week.
Biden’s announcement came after an increasing number of Democrats called for him to withdraw his 2024 reelection bid. The concerns related to his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump in November and carry out a second term.
Trump used social media to issue a response Sunday afternoon.
These calls began shortly after a debate against Trump last month reignited worries over his mental acuity and age. At 81, Biden is the oldest sitting U.S. president.
One of the leading national Democrats calling for Biden to step aside was U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a Mansfield native who issued his statement Friday afternoon.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban,” Brown said in an email to Richland Source.
“These are the issues Ohioans care about and it is my job to keep fighting for them.
“I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign,” Brown said.
Brown issued a statement Sunday afternoon on X following Biden’s decision.
Biden’s withdrawal pushes the Democratic Party into a tight decision-making spot with its national convention scheduled to begin on Aug. 19 in Chicago. The nominee will also have a small window to choose a running mate to take on Trump and his vice-presidential pick, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance.
The 95 percent of delegates who pledged to support Biden following his big wins in the Democratic primaries are now able to vote for a different candidate.
Harris, 59, has the largest national profile of any Democratic candidate, and delegates may view her as the safest option with only four months remaining before election day.
Campaign finance experts also have said that Harris would have the most straightforward legal argument to keep the Biden campaign’s fundraising haul, while another nominee may have to forfeit that money.
As of the end of May, the Biden’s campaign had $91.6 million in cash on hand.
Despite Harris’s advantages, her nomination is not automatic. Three Democratic governors– California’s Gavin Newsom, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and J.B. Pritzker from Illinois — have been floated as potential alternatives.
If any of those candidates were nominated in Chicago next month, they would face the monumental task of introducing themselves to voters, crafting a campaign message and defeating Trump all in two-and-a-half months.
(This is a breaking news story and may be updated.)