September 7, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
It was a moment for the history books — a U.S. president reflecting before the nation on why he was taking the rare step of voluntarily handing off power. It hasn’t been done since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek reelection in the heat of the Vietnam War.
Biden skirted the political reality that brought him to that point: His abysmal performance in a debate against Trump nearly a month ago, where he spoke haltingly, appeared ashen and failed to rebut his predecessor’s attacks, sparked a crisis of confidence from Democrats. Lawmakers and ordinary voters questioned not just whether he was capable of beating Trump in November, but also whether, at 81, he was still fit for the high-pressure job.
Biden, who said he believed his record was deserving of another term in office, tried to outlast the skepticism and quell the concerns with interviews and tepid rallies, but the pressure to end his campaign only mounted from the party’s political elites and from ordinary voters.
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said, saying he wanted to make room for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices.”
His advisers say he intends to hold campaign events and fundraisers benefiting Harris, whom Biden praised as “tough” and “capable," albeit at a far slower pace than if he had remained on the ballot himself.
Harris's advisers will ultimately have to decide how to deploy the president, whose popularity sagged as voters in both parties questioned his fitness for office.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that any question of Biden resigning his office before the election — which would allow Harris to run as an incumbent — was “ridiculous.”
