President Joe Biden ends his 2024 campaign, endorses Kamala Harris

ORLANDO, Fla. — President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection following a debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.

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8:46 p.m. Update

Trump’s campaign quickly pivots to Harris after Biden announces decision to leave the race

Donald Trump ‘s campaign has spent the last year-and-a-half viciously attacking Joe Biden, ridiculing his policies, mocking his fumbles and relishing a rematch they felt they were winning.

But they have also spent weeks preparing for the possibility that Biden might exit the race, readying a bevy of attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris that they unleashed as soon as Biden made his stunning announcement Sunday that he would step aside. Biden soon after endorsed Harris, who was quickly winning support from Democrats to be the party’s nominee.

Though Trump aides had wanted Biden to remain in the race, they have argued a campaign against Harris — who they believe is the most likely Democratic nominee — wouldn’t be all that different from their race against Biden.

6:42 p.m. Update

Biden’s wife Jill supported his decision, whatever it was, her spokesperson says

“Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she was supportive of whatever road he chose,” said Jill Biden’s communication director.

“She’s his biggest believer, champion, and always on his side, in that trusted way only a spouse of almost 50 years can be.”

6:36 p.m. Update

Harris receives her first delegates for the Democratic presidential nomination

The Tennessee Democratic Party posted on X that its delegation voted during a meeting Sunday to back Harris after Biden’s departure from the campaign.

5:35 p.m. Update

Harris inherits Biden’s campaign infrastructure, AP said.

President Biden’s campaign formally changed its name to Harris for President, reflecting that she is inheriting his political operation — a sign of the prohibitive leg up she has in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Democratic groups, including the Democratic National Committee, also filed paperwork changing the names of their joint fundraising committees to reflect Harris’ candidacy.

5:18 p.m. Update

A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never stepped out of the race so close to the election. President Lyndon Johnson, besieged by the Vietnam War, announced in March 1968 that he would not seek another term after just a single state’s primary, AP said.

4:37 p.m. Update

Democrat endorsements for Harris roll in, AP said.

Many Democratic lawmakers immediately backed Vice President Harris for the nomination, including the Congressional Black Caucus and a swath of Democratic senators.

• Washington Sen. Patty Murray said she is behind Harris “100 percent.”
• South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, one of Biden’s closest allies, said, “I am proud to follow his lead in support of her candidacy.”
• Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said she “has the experience, energy, and resolve to lead our nation.”
• Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy said he will be “enthusiastically supporting my friend.”
• Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine and California Sen. Laphonza Butler also said they would support Harris.
• Along with many Democratic House lawmakers, the Congressional Black Caucus — a key constituency for any nominee — said it “fully backs” the vice president.

AP said, not every Democrat praising President Biden has offered Harris an endorsement. Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Peter Welch of Vermont stopped short of throwing their support behind Harris. Welch said in an interview with The Associated Press that he thinks the party needs to “take a little pause and express our appreciation for the president.”

“We have to be making our decisions first and foremost about who can best represent us so we can defeat Trump,” Welch said.

4:29 p.m. Update

Governor Ron DeSantis released a statement on X regarding President Biden ending his campaign.

“Kamala Harris was complicit in a massive coverup to hide and deny the fact that Joe Biden was not capable of discharging the duties of the office. She also was the the border czar during the worst border crisis in American history. Democrats are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.” DeSantis said.

4:21 p.m. Update

Obama calls his former VP ‘one of America’s most consequential presidents’, the Associated Press said.

According to the the Associated Press, the Former President Barack Obama called Biden, his former vice president, “one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me.”

Obama said Sunday in a statement that when he picked Biden as his running mate in the 2008 campaign, “what I came to admire even more was his character — his deep empathy and hard-earned resilience; his fundamental decency and belief that everyone counts.”

As president, Obama said Biden “has displayed that character again and again,” citing Biden’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and achievements on climate change legislation, among others.

Obama also said Biden, in defeating Trump four years ago, “reminded us of who we are at our best — a country committed to old-fashioned values like trust and honesty, kindness and hard work; a country that believes in democracy, rule of law, and accountability; a country that insists that everyone, no matter who they are, has a voice and deserves a chance at a better life.”

In opting to shutter his reelection bid, Obama said Biden “has never backed down from a fight,” adding that “he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America.

Of what’s to come, Obama said he has “extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.”

4:14 p.m. Update

Harris pledges to earn and win the nomination with Biden’s support

Vice President Harris says she’s honored to have Biden’s endorsement and that she intends to “earn and win this nomination.”, the Associated Press said.

She released a statement calling Biden’s decision to end his campaign a “selfless and patriotic act.” She also thanked Biden for his “extraordinary leadership” and argued that his legacy as a one-term president would surpass the records of many chief executives who served two terms in office.

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