President Joe Biden‘s decision to end his re-election campaign reportedly came within the 48 hours of his public announcement, a senior campaign adviser confirmed to CNN on Sunday (July 21).
The source claimed that Biden didn’t have a final in-person meeting with top campaign or White House advisers following his COVID-19 diagnosis last week and had studied all of the data before concluding that he would “weigh down” the Democratic presidential ticket in the party’s effort to defeat former President Donald Trump.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden publicly endorsed as a potential replacement for the Democratic presidential nomination, reportedly learned of Biden’s decision on Sunday, a source confirmed to CNN. The two reportedly spoke multiple times earlier in the day prior to Biden sharing an official statement addressing Americans on his social media account.
“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,” Biden said. “I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”
Biden expressed his “deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected” and referred to Vice President Harris as “an extraordinary partner in all this work,” though not specifically mentioning whether she would serve as his replacement as the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The president’s decision came amid reports of uncertainty regarding his re-election campaign following a disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, 78, last month. Biden, the oldest president in history, appeared opposite Trump on the debate stage for the first time since the 2020 election and did little to quell concerns about his vigor and energy.
The president appeared to struggle with his voice, clearing his throat and coughing multiple times, and was often seen open-mouthed and staring when Trump spoke, occasionally struggling to finish sentences. Biden’s performance reportedly led to “panic” among Democrats, according to longtime Democratic operative and CNN senior political commentator David Axelrod, which was followed by several Democratic members of Congress calling for him to step down.
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