President Joe Biden ended his presidential campaign on Sunday after a politically disastrous performance in the debates ignited deep-seated concerns among voters and within his party about whether the 81-year-old president is capable of serving a second term in office.
The president announced his decision in a letter posted to his campaign Twitter account, saying he would serve out his duties as president until the end of his term in January and would speak to the American people “in more detail about my decision later this week.”
He also endorsed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in a follow-up message: “I fully support and endorse Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year,” he said.
The president is currently isolating in Delaware as he recovers from COVID-19, and in a letter from his doctor sent early Sunday morning, he said his condition has “significantly improved.”
The move, coming less than four weeks after the debate, was an acknowledgment of political reality after Biden’s allies repeatedly pressured the president, both publicly and privately, to drop out of the race.
Lawmakers like Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi led the pressure campaign, joined by a string of financial figures, that ultimately forced the president to step down by threatening to withhold future donations.
TOP SHOT – US President Joe Biden waves on stage during the Vote To Live Prosperity Summit at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/AFP) (Photo by Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by Kent Nishimura/via Getty Images)
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who also reportedly urged Biden to resign in recent days, responded with a statement praising Biden on Sunday, saying his decision “was not easy” but that “he has once again put our country, our party and our future first.”
One of the most visible donors in recent weeks has been George Clooney. The actor has helped raise millions for Biden, but wrote in a New York Times essay that he has witnessed Biden’s decline firsthand. The president, he added, “isn’t even Joe Biden in 2020.”
But for weeks, Biden and his allies have tried to weather the storm.
Just Monday, in an interview with NBC News, Biden stressed that nothing has changed and said he’s continuing to campaign because “the job isn’t done.”
But later, in an interview with BET that aired Wednesday, Biden acknowledged he would consider pulling out if “any health concerns become apparent.” The White House then announced on Wednesday that Biden had tested positive for COVID-19 and was traveling to Delaware to self-isolate.
US President Joe Biden disembarks from Air Force One upon arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on July 17, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/AFP) (Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images) (Kent Nishimura via Getty Images)
More than a dozen prominent politicians have joined calls for Biden to step aside in recent days, as the tension between the president and his party reaches a fever pitch.
Rep. Adam Schiff, who is expected to become California’s next senator and a close ally of Pelosi, told the Los Angeles Times that he has “serious concerns about whether the president can beat Donald Trump in November.”
The story continues
Sen. Jon Tester, who is running a tough re-election campaign in his home state of Montana, also called on Biden to resign on Thursday, and more lawmakers, including influential Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, followed suit on Friday with their own calls for him to step down.
The future course of politics is unclear and could destabilize the market.
The president’s move will take the 2024 election to a historic turning point. With Biden’s endorsement, Vice President Harris is the clear front-runner, but with Biden’s delegates announced, other candidates may vie to replace the president as the party’s standard-bearer.
Political and economic commentators quickly began compiling lists of potential replacements after Biden’s rambling debate performance, in which he lost his train of thought and stumbled from topic to topic on the debate stage, crystallizing months of growing concerns among voters about his fitness to be president.
Others seen as potential candidates include prominent Democratic governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California.
“If there is another candidate, would that candidate be able to have a conversation about Trump and how unfavorable he has been?” Ed Mills, policy analyst and managing director at Raymond James Washington, asked during an appearance on Yahoo Finance Live on Friday as the pressure neared a climax.
The process is expected to be chaotic and fast-moving, sources said, with the potential to rattle markets and political circles in the coming weeks.
The selection process may have to begin soon, before the Democratic National Convention begins in Chicago on August 19, because of a new law in Ohio that requires political parties to endorse their presidential candidates by August 7.
And the candidate the Democrats choose will have to immediately succeed Biden and face off against former President Donald Trump in an election that began early voting in September and runs through Election Day on November 5.
They will also face tough fundraising challenges as donations to Trump have surged in recent months, helping Republicans eclipse Democrats’ early lead in the fundraising race.
Biden’s successor will also need to quickly formulate his or her own position on the economy.
The new candidate will face the challenge of succeeding Biden on economic policy and crafting a message to motivate voters fixated on issues such as a 20% inflation rise since Biden took office.
At the recent Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Republicans again blasted Biden and Democrats over inflation.
Monday night’s rally focused on the theme of “Making America Wealthy Again,” with speaker after speaker highlighting prices at grocery stores and gas stations.
This post has been updated with additional context.
Ben Werschkul is Yahoo Finance’s Washington correspondent.
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