Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race

PHOENIX (AZFamilie/AZFamilie) — President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race, just days after Donald Trump was formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate and amid endless calls from party members imploring him to pass the torch.

Biden shared the update on social media.

“I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling the duties of my president for the remainder of my term,” the president said in a statement.

On Thursday, Sen. John Tester of Montana became the most prominent Democrat to call on the president not to seek re-election. Just hours before that announcement, Rep. Jim Costa publicly called for Biden to drop out of the race.

Biden’s sphere of influence, already small before his failed debate, has shrunk even further in recent days.

Former President Barack Obama privately expressed his concerns to allies and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, telling Biden that the party could lose its ability to take control of the House if he did not step down.

He has been isolated while battling COVID-19 at home in Delaware. The president is leaning on a few longtime aides as he weighs whether to bow to mounting pressure to bow out.

Campaign officials said Biden was even more determined to stay in the race, even as calls for him to run grew. But there was also time to reconsider.

He had been told that the campaign was having trouble raising money, and because he was away from the campaign for a few days, some Democrats saw an opportunity to encourage him to leave.

Obama told allies that Biden should consider the viability of his campaign, but he also made clear that Biden had to make the decision. In recent days, the former president has fielded calls from members of congressional leadership, Democratic governors and critical donors to discuss their concerns about his former vice president.

Pelosi had presented Biden with polls that she said showed he was unlikely to beat Republican Trump. But the former speaker responded sharply on Thursday, saying the “feeding frenzy” from anonymous sources was “misrepresenting any conversations” she may have had with the president.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a current news item? Send it’s here for us with a short description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.