Biden Ends Re-Election Campaign; White House Race Is Still Ahead

 Biden Ends Re-Election Campaign; White House Race Is Still Ahead

In a move that fundamentally alters the contest for the White House, US President Joe Biden has withdrawn his re-election candidacy and supported Vice-President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic nominee.

Mr. Biden, 81, said in a written statement that was made public on Sunday that he considered serving as the "greatest honor" but that his decision to step down was "in the best interest of my party and the country." With this declaration, a turbulent phase in US politics comes to an end. It all started on June 27 with his occasionally disorganized debate performance against Donald Trump. According to Mr. Biden, he will serve as president through January. 

Remarking that she was "honored" to receive the endorsement, Ms. Harris, 59, promised to "earn and win this nomination" and bring the nation together against Trump. "Today is election day—107 days away," she said.. We're going to battle together. And we'll succeed together."

Even while Ms. Harris has been receiving support from a number of powerful party officials, she has not yet received a formal nomination; the Democratic National Convention in August will probably be the deciding event in this matter. 

Shortly after escaping an attempted assassination, Trump surged ahead in polls and was officially announced as the Republican nominee this week at the party conference in Milwaukee. Mr. Biden's decision was met with the declaration by Trump that the president "was not fit to run... and is certainly not fit to serve." Senior Republicans who shared this criticism urged Mr. Biden to resign from both the Democratic race and the White House immediately.

Prospective Rivals of Harris Fall in Line

Although the president had spoken to Ms. Harris and a few other people earlier, sources told the BBC that even senior White House personnel and campaign officials were only briefed on Mr. Biden's decision moments before the statement was made public on Sunday afternoon. 

Numerous prominent Democrats, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and President Barack Obama, applauded the choice and Mr. Biden's achievements during his time in government. In addition, Kamala Harris received support from former president Bill Clinton and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016, with the letter promising to "fight with everything we've got to elect her."

Despite expressing "extraordinary confidence" that an "outstanding nominee emerges," Mr. Obama made no clear endorsements of Ms. Harris or any other contender. Pelosi has not provided a statement. First among Democrats to urge Biden to withdraw from his reelection campaign, Senator Peter Welch called for an "open process" to choose Harris's opponent. 

But there are indications that a large number of party members, including prominent lawmakers who were once thought to be her competitors for the nomination, would support her. Presumptively a presidential candidate, California Governor Gavin Newsom, hailed Mr. Biden as "selfless" and supported Ms. Harris as "fearless" and "tenacious" against Trump. Governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Pete Buttigieg, the current secretary of transportation and a previous presidential candidate, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan also showed support, emphasizing their dedication to electing Democrats and thwarting Donald Trump. 

The Harris Victory Fund and Harris Action Fund are the new names of the fundraising committees that the Democratic National Committee has filed to change. Well-known Democratic contributors like billionaire Alexander Soros and co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman openly supported Harris. An hour after Mr. Biden made his statement, an assault on Ms. Harris by the pro-Trump super-PAC Make America Great Again was uploaded online, with the charge that "she covered up Joe's obvious mental decline." Trump continued: "Whoever the Left puts Up ahead, it will merely be more of the same. 

Following weeks of intensive examination, Mr. Biden's actions since his June debate performance have been closely monitored. His high-profile conference with NATO leaders in Washington less than two weeks ago did little to allay fears within his own party. He addressed Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, as "President Putin" during the occasion, and he seemed to address Ms. Harris as "Vice President Trump."

He once claimed in an interview that only the "Lord Almighty" could force him to step down, but he later said he would think about doing so if he became ill. He said on Friday that he would be going back to the campaign trail the following week, while being held in isolation following a positive test for Covid. 

Mr. Biden expressed his gratitude to Ms. Harris in his Sunday statement, referring to her as an "extraordinary partner." "I believe today and always have that there is nothing America can't do when we do it together," he said in addition to expressing his gratitude to the American people. We simply need to keep in mind that we are the United States of America.

Democratic National Committee officials convened an emergency meeting on Sunday night, reorienting attention to the party's August 19–20 national convention. Since Mr. Biden had won all of the party's primaries, all of the state delegates to the convention had already promised to support him. But now, it's anticipated that they'll be freed to cast another 

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